


Looking Glass

by RandomFlyer



Series: Looking Glass [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Also some action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But he wants to be a good Dad, Dimensional Travel, Gen, He looks out for Minato, Jinchuuriki - Freeform, Jiraiya's a good uncle, Kakashi needs a break, Minato is a workaholic, Obito is not in this story, Second chances for some people, There's a learning curve, Written when I thought Obito died as a kid, and some angst to round it off, desperate situations, reuniting with people thought dead, there's some fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-03-08 09:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 133,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18891625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomFlyer/pseuds/RandomFlyer
Summary: AU. "The village is being attacked," Sarutobi said against his better judgment. He was taking too long as it was, too long away from the front lines. "You are one of the goals of this attack, Naruto, so I'm going to send you somewhere I believe you will be safe."Please R&R.





	1. Desperate Times

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Naruto.
> 
> I wrote this story a number of years ago and posted it on Fanfic.net. I'm just now getting it over to AO3. I started this story before I knew of Obito's survival from the boulder and his alliance with Madara, so neither of those characters feature in this story. As a result this is heavily AU and not cannon compliant. I'll be editing the chapters before posting them, so updates will probably be once or twice a week. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

  **Chapter 1: Desperate Times**

Sarutobi ran through the lowest halls of the Hokage tower, the pitter-patter of smaller feet barely keeping up with his hurried speed. He clutched the smaller hand in his in case those feet should falter so he would not lose the boy in his haste. Around him, shinobi rushed through the halls and different rooms. Flashes of light burst from file rooms as important documents were first copied onto portable scrolls then destroyed. Others were heading out to help with the defenses. Sarutobi himself should have been heading that way as well. It was the Hokage’s duty to defend the village with his life and he had no intention to ignore that duty, but there was another, equally important duty trailing along behind him.

The walls shook and the lighting flicked a moment as another explosion rocked through the village. The old Hokage looked up to the ceiling briefly wondering if he would have to worry about it collapsing, but just as quickly dismissed the idea. The attacks were not close or strong enough yet to break or destroy the stronghold. The explosions themselves were still worrying, though, and he could almost hear in his mind’s ear the screams of villagers not yet evacuated and the cries of his shinobi defending their home. He sped up his pace, this time making the child behind him stumble and fall.

For a moment, Sarutobi dragged the boy. The child desperately tried to regain his footing and stifle the whimpers and curses alternating out of his mouth, but the old man swung the child onto his hip without breaking stride and continued on his way. Through the boy’s thin white t-shirt he could feel warm dampness seeping into his battle clothes. Luckily, the wound was not life threatening and the boy would heal so long as he was given time and wasn’t further injured.

They turned a corner and moved into a darker passage, this one almost completely deserted and with fewer doors, most of which were hidden from the casual observer. Sarutobi’s steps did not falter as he moved to one of those doors, invisible to all unless previously aware of its presence and coded into the protective seals that surrounded the door and room beyond. A few hand motions deactivated the seals and he slid inside.

The boy felt limp in his arms, though still conscious. Moving around had not done any favors for his wound, and blood loss combined with emotional turmoil was putting the boy into a state of shock. The old man wished he could do something to relieve the child’s distress, but there was no time. With a quick hand sign, he brought one of the chakra sensitive candles to life throwing the room into eerie shadows and half light.

There was only one object in this room besides the candles. It was designated a SS-class secret and only a few besides the Hokage even knew of its existence, much less had seen it, and fewer than even that had actually used it. In fact, the total number of people even seeing it in use was the Sandaime Hokage and Shikaku, his Anbu advisor. Sarutobi had never actually used it for the purpose he now intended, but it was the best and most assured way to ensure the safety of the young Uzumaki Naruto now huddled in his arms.

He set the boy down, quicker than he should have with the bleeding wound on the child’s side. The sudden jolt brought the boy around, though, so Sarutobi quashed any feelings of remorse on his part. He drew out a scroll set with a complex seal designed by himself and his student, Jiraiya, and unfolded their creation until it lay flat on the floor immediately before the wide pane of crystal glass standing in the center of the room.

“Naruto,” Sarutobi said, calling the boy out of his dazed state where he swayed next to the Hokage.

“Old man, what’s going on?” Naruto’s voice was quiet, very different from the eight year old’s typical boisterous tones.

“The village is being attacked,” Sarutobi said against his better judgment. He was taking too long as it was, too long away from the front lines. “You are one of the goals of this attack, so I’m going to send you somewhere I believe you will be safe.”

“Safe?” Naruto repeated a spark of his usual life coming into his eyes, “But I can hel-“

“No,” Sarutobi cut him off, harsher than ever before and grabbing the boy’s shoulders tightly. “You’re still just an academy student, years away from graduation. You will do as I say. Now look at me.”

Naruto started at the harsh tone, but there was no time to bring about greater understanding in the boy. He looked up to Sarutobi’s face and the old man caught his eyes weaving a genjutsu through the boy. Naruto’s pupils dilated and glazed as his shoulders relaxed.

Sarutobi gave his instructions in a clear and authoritative tone. “Naruto, I want you to memorize this seal.”

The boy’s eyes immediately swung down to the large paper unfolded before them, sweeping across the design, taking in every symbol and character with skill he would not have had on his own. Sarutobi watched as the eyes scanned the seal three complete times before turning back to him.

“This seal will bring you home when the time comes. DO NOT use it unless you have clear proof I have personally contacted you and told you it is safe to return. If it is truly safe to return I will give you the hand seals at that time. Do you understand?” Sautobi asked, though it was unnecessary. The instructions would bury themselves into the boy’s memory along with the seal thanks to the genjutsu. It would lay in the boy’s subconscious, hiding the seal from anyone forcibly trying to find it. Then, when it was necessary Sarutobi would be able to call it out again.

Naruto nodded at the end of the instructions, his eyes locked on Sarutobi’s in a sort of glazed fascination.

“Good,” Sarutobi said, releasing the boy from the genjutsu and turning his attention back to the seal and crystal glass before them.

Naruto blinked and swayed next to him, looking around confused and disorientated for a moment. He was pale. The blood from his wound stained his white shirt and darkened the red swirl printed on the front. “Old man?” he asked again, this time with more fear and confusion in his tone than earlier.

Sarutobi didn’t bother answering, instead focusing on the hand seals required to activate the crystal glass. The crystal before them glowed for a moment before fading to reveal a room not too dissimilar from the one they were currently in, except in that room, no one was present. Grabbing Naruto’s arm, the old Hokage moved the boy into the center of the seal and began hand seals again. Activating the seal took a considerable number of hand signs and he ran through them as quickly as he could, knowing he had spent too much time there already.

The seal on the floor glowed blue, the symbols and characters moved to circle the boy and creep up his legs and body. Naruto stared in wide eyed fascination and fear, unable to move and face pale white. Sarutobi regretted causing the child so much distress, but there was little choice. When the writing had completely left the page and covered the boy from head to foot, he moved forward and with a powerful shove pushed the boy forward through the crystal glass. His hands themselves stopped at the crystal’s surface, unable to pass through, but the boy fell with a hard thump on to the floor beyond.

 Sarutobi waited a second longer to make sure Naruto made the journey safely, but as soon as he saw the boy’s arm twitch feebly he shut down the crystal glass, returning it to his own dim reflection. The additional light in the room faded to just the candle again and the old man turned to the door. He sealed the room, adding a few additions of his personal security seals to ensure none but himself could enter or even discover the place if worse came to worse. Then, without another look back, he turned to the hallway and hurried to join the battle still raging outside.

**TBC…**


	2. The Boy

**Chapter 2: The Boy**

The discovery of the mirror was entirely by accident. Minato had been trying to figure out how the old man had done his magic-seeing-crystal trick. It was useful to his predecessor to keep track of the goings on in the village and Minato made no secret of his envy of that ability. He made it his off-hours project, something to keep him busy at the times he didn’t have paper work cluttering his desk or after the Hokage tower closed regular operations for the night. It was better than going to an empty house and dwelling on past memories.

Unfortunately, the Sandaime left no directions on how he had created his seeing crystal and no amount of tinkering from Minato could make the faded orb come to life again. So he decided to start from page one and build his own. He knew it was possible, had seen the end result once when the older man had been feeling indulgent and showed him how he seemed to know everything that happened with the walls of his city. Minato just had to deconstruct how such a thing was possible. It gave him something to occupy his time and mind in the dead of night.

No one could have felt more surprise than him when one day, while running one of his experimental prototypes through its initial trial phase, Minato found himself staring into the face of his predecessor.

At first, Minato thought he opened a window into the past. He refused to let himself think he was looking at the afterlife. The ramifications of that were too painful to conceive. Then, he’d looked closer at the equally surprised face gazing back at him and he realized the Sandaime’s face was older, more lined, wearier the he’d ever seen it.

“Minato?” the Sandaime gasped in shock, bringing the Yondaime out of his own shocked silence.

“Sandaime-sama?” Minato responded with equal amazement.

“How is this possible?” the older Hokage wondered, unknowingly echoing Minato’s thoughts and the younger said so, drawing a frown from the older man. “I don’t think you realize, Minato-san…you’re dead.”

That caused Minato to stop, stunned for a moment. “I can say the same thing about you,” he finally replied, earning a considering look from the Sandaime.

In the end, both Hokage put their heads together and determined they were peering into a different eventuality, alternatives to their own worlds if things had played out differently.

It was fascinating for Minato to learn of some of the differences that separated their worlds, if a little painful at times and frustrating at others, especially when the Sandaime refused to answer some of his questions. They determined the main difference between their two worlds occurred during the Kyuubi’s attack almost a decade ago. In Minato’s own world the Kyuubi was dragged into death by his beloved Kushina shortly after she had given birth to their stillborn son. Dissimilarly, he discovered his alternate self had died sealing the kyuubi in a new Jinchuuriki, following his wife to the grave. Minato wasn’t sure if he envied his alternate self or not.

Still, being able to talk to the Sandaime, even if wasn’t his own was an immense comfort to Minato. It was incredible, the similarities between the two. If he hadn’t known better, Minato would have thought he was speaking to his own predecessor. The only noticeable difference he could see was the man’s increased age as well as the increased weariness that seemed settled around him like a cloak. Minato wasn’t sure how he felt when the Sandaime said the same thing about him.

Nevertheless, both Hokage were well aware of the potential uses of such a thing and more than aware of the potential misuses. Minato designated it an SS-class secret and though the Sandaime never said specifically, he was sure the old man had done the same. They speculated about the possibility of sending something or someone through the glass. Minato couldn’t help himself from theorizing and discussing his ideas with the older man, but refrained from actively trying it. The potential for misuse was too great.

The crystal glass was kept in a high security room in the Hokage tower. Minato’s footsteps echoed around him as he headed down to the lower level where it was located. He wanted to check if the Sandaime would be up for a talk. It was late and most everyone had headed home already but he didn’t want to return to the house just yet. Both Hokage tended to keep late hours. It was part of the job, so he had a chance of catching his colleague before the Sandaime left for the night. They were lucky the time between the two worlds corresponded so well.

There was another reason he wanted to speak with the Sandaime in that other place. Minato was growing concerned for his fellow Hokage. The Sandaime was looking increasingly worn and tired, worry lines visibly deepening in the short amount of time they had been in contact. The old man had vaguely mentioned some problems, political mostly, both inside and out of the village but would not go into any detail on the subject. The Yondaime frowned to himself as he made his way down to the room housing the seeing glass. Though his predecessor tried to reassure him, Minato only grew more concerned. It didn’t help that the Sandaime was increasingly too busy to join in their nightly talks. All together it left one worried Yondaime.

Even with the concern and the expectation of something bad on the horizon, Minato was not prepared to enter the crystal’s room and find a young body lying on the floor before the seeing crystal. He stopped, stunned, for a moment before he rushed to the boy’s side. There was a dark stain on the boy’s white shirt and sticky pool of blood half dried on the floor. Heart in his stomach, Minato searched for the wound leaking out the blood. He found one injury, a painful slash mark across the boy’s side, but the injury looked at least half a day old, too old to have caused the drying pool beneath the boy.

Minato found no other wounds and though the half dried blood posed something of a mystery, he dismissed it in favor of looking after the boy. The child was not in immediate danger, but was suffering from shock, low chakra and blood. Carefully, Minato lifted the child in his arms. He glanced at the crystal standing blank and quiet next to them. As outrageous as it seemed, the only explanation he could provide for how the boy got into the room was through the glass. He doubted it was an accident, which meant the Sandaime must have sent the boy through somehow.

Frowning, the Yondaime turned his back to the crystal and moved back out into the dim hallway. He reset the protective seals and added a few more to keep things in as well as out. It wouldn’t do to assume the Sandaime was the only one in that other place who could get to the mirror and if one person had come through there was no guarantee more wouldn’t follow. There was no way to know the situation in that other place. Something disastrous might have happened. Glancing down at the light bundle in his arms before rushing back toward the surface and hospital, Minato revised that thought in his head. Something disastrous more than likely had happened.

Pushing through the doors into the hospital, Minato was more than relieved it was so late. There were few people at the medical center and anyone who was there was either too busy and tired, attending patients, or too distressed worrying for loved ones to take much note of him as he waylaid a nurse to tend to the boy.

“O-of course Hokage-sama!” the girl stammered, blinking at him with wide eyes. “Please, bring him this way, sir.”

She led him through the halls to an empty room with a single bed. Following her gesture to the readymade bed, Minato laid the boy down on it, carefully settling the limp form in a hopefully comfortable position. Looking between the two of them for a moment, the nurse hesitated before asking.

“Is…is he related to you, Hokage-sama?”

Minato blinked at her then looked down at the child. Then blinked at the mop of blond hair that stuck up in all directions. He’d been so busy, first with his preoccupation with what could be happening in the other world and then with getting the boy treatment he hadn’t even noticed. Looking now, though, his gut twisted and Minato felt sure something more was going on than he was aware.

Swallowing the feeling and looking back at the nurse still hovering just beyond the bed, Minato asked with an edge, “Does it make a difference?”

Startled, the nurse shook her head and moved to the bedside, “Of course not.” Finally snapping into her professional role, she began scanning the boy, a frown on her face.

Minato waited off to the side. He wanted to know how the boy was doing. From the looks of the child, he seemed only seven years old, maybe a little younger, but Minato could not ignore the similarities in their appearance. The longer he looked at the boy the more he felt that was how his son would appear, minus the strange whisker marks on the child’s cheeks. If his son had lived, he would be just over eight years old now.

Once the idea took hold, Minato found it impossible to ignore. He assumed his son had died in the other world as well. After all, the old man never once mentioned the boy, but that was no guarantee. Half of him wanted to go back to the crystal, contact the Sandaime, and demand an explanation. Considering his earlier luck with that, however, and the condition of the boy lying only a few feet away from him, he doubted he would have any luck getting a response from that other world.

Instead, Minato stuck with the other desire tugging at him. He’d wait until the boy woke up. They had over half the night and he was willing to stay there for the rest of it if necessary. He’d even stay through the morning into the next day. Mundane forms and mission reports could wait for as long as needed as far as he was concerned.

A troubled hum from the nurse brought Minato out of his thoughts.

“What’s the problem?” Minato asked, moving closer to the bed.

“He’s healing at an accelerated rate,” the nurse replied, a confused frown marring the concentration on her face. “It’s almost like there’s a foreign chakra in his system…”

“Foreign chakra?” Minato repeated, looking to the nurse then back to the boy, “Is it harming him?”

“It seems to be the cause of the accelerated healing, but I’m not sure…I’ve never seen anything like this before.” She pause, eyes closed and concentration focused for several minutes more. “It doesn’t seem to be hurting him. Until we know what it is I recommend we do nothing.”

Minato frowned, but nodded at her advice. As skilled as he was in many areas, healing was not his specialty and he knew when to bow to the advice of a professional. Still, he didn’t like the idea of this foreign chakra. He’d find Rin or Tsunade in the morning and have them do a more thorough check up.

The nurse let the glowing green chakra fade from her hands, “Other than that he isn’t in any danger. If the healing keeps up at this rate he’ll probably be physically healed in another day.”

Minato nodded, staring intently at the child. That meant the boy would probably be awake relatively soon if there wasn’t additional mental trauma keeping the boy unconscious. An intake of breath brought his attention back to the nurse.

“…Hokage-sama, could you help me get him into a gown? His clothes are ruined.”

“Oh, of course. If you’ll get the gown I’ll get these off,” he said, moving to a better position.

The nurse moved to the door smiling back at him. “Thank you, Hokage-sama, and don’t worry about saving them. They’re beyond hope at this point, I think.”

“Yes, they are,” Minato agreed but she was already in the hallway. Pulling out a kunai, he carefully cut up the sleeves and front of the shirt. Then, he lifted the boy and gently tugged the ruined garment away in one motion. When he settled the boy back onto the bed he froze. On the child’s stomach there was a large, intricate seal. It pulsed deep black at a regular beat, probably the boy’s heart beat, and faded into the skin again.

Just looking at it, Minato recognized his own work. He’d developed that seal years ago, one of the most powerful seals he had devised, though there had been some minor changes to it in the example scrawled into the boy’s stomach. He would have to look into it in greater detail later to determine the exact purposes of the changes. As to the general reason, he had no doubt the seal was the cause of the foreign chakra present in the boy’s system. He had a strong suspicion on what that was and what was sealed in the boy, but hesitant to jump to any half formed conclusions.

The door opened as the nurse returned with loose fitting hospital pants and shirt. Minato turned and intercepted her before she could cross to the bed. “I’ll take care of this,” he said with a smile and he took the hospital pajamas, “I’m sure you have other duties to attend to.”

“It’s no trouble Hokage-sama,” the nurse replied, a little surprised.

“No, I found the boy, I feel responsible for him,” Minato said, kindly but firmly, “thank you for looking at him.”

“Oh it was my pleasure, Hokage-sama,” the nurse said, beaming at him with new confidence. “You’re so kind to take care of him. You’ll make such a good father someday.”

Minato bit back a sigh as he subtly led the woman to the door. “Thank you. If I need anything else, I’ll be sure to call.”

“Anything at all,” the nurse agreed pausing just outside the door, “Oh, you never said, what’s the boy’s name?”

Minato stopped his gentle pushing, “I’m…not sure,” he admitted, a little embarrassed. “He was unconscious when I found him.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll wake up in a few hours. You can find out then and let us know at the front desk.”

“I’ll do that,” Minato mumbled, glancing back to the bed. He closed the door, not noticing if the nurse said anything else or was even still there in the hall. He hadn’t thought about the boy’s name. A part of him had just subconsciously started thinking of the boy as Naruto, but what was his name? What if his name really was Naruto? Minato didn’t know how he would react to that or even how he would feel about that.

Shaking the thought from his mind, Minato crossed back to the bed. The seal still pulsed in a steady rhythm, deep and black one moment and fading the next. He pulled out a scroll from his pouch along with pen and ink. Then, slowly, he copied the seal, pausing when it faded to make sure he was accurate. Ten minutes later he had checked and rechecked the completed seal. The scroll went back into his pouch and he carefully changed the boy into the hospital pajamas.

With nothing left to do, Minato pulled a chair up to the bedside and collapsed into it. His eyes burned and his head ached. He only wanted to lean his head back, close his eyes, and sleep but his thoughts were racing. He didn’t know what time it was but he could guess it was very late from the dark and still world outside. The child in front of him slept peacefully. The color had returned to his cheeks and his breathing was deep and even.

Minato watched the small chest rise and fall, thoughts restless yet too tired to focus on any of them. He leaned back, stretched out his legs and crossed his arms over his chest. He blinked heavily as the steady, soft breathing that filled the room lulled his restlessness. Before he realized what was happening his eyes slid closed and he dropped off to sleep.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who left a comment or kudos on this story!


	3. Second Chances

**Chapter 3: Second Chances**

Minato awoke to a faint rustling sound, then a faint clicking sound. His first thought was to curse himself for not closing the window causing the wind to rattle the vertical blinds. Then, he remembered he hadn’t left the window open. Slowly, silently groaning at his lost sleep, he opened his eyes realizing the figure on the bed was gone. No, not gone, just kneeling upon the bed half hidden by blinds as he looked out the window, the pale light of early dawn filtering in behind him.

Minato sighed as he tried to still his suddenly racing heart. The spike of adrenaline slowly left his system leaving him wide awake in its place. The boy, by this time, had turned and was staring at him with wide, blue eyes, Minato’s own eyes, and for a moment Minato couldn’t move his gaze from the child’s before him. The reflection of his own eyes held him completely speechless and he had difficulty fighting the sudden bubble of emotion that welled up in his chest.

“Hi,” the boy said brightly, if with a little hesitance.

Minato blinked, coming back to himself and that sky-blue gaze. “Hi,” he responded, desperately using the moment to collect himself. “How are you feeling?”

“Great!” the boy chirped a wide smile on his face and Minato couldn’t help but smile back, but the boy’s grin faltered after a moment before saying in more subdued tone, “But…I think I had a strange dream last night…” He glanced toward the window again, doubt shining in his expression.

Minato hesitated. “What did you dream?” he asked softly, leaning forward in his seat and resting his elbows on his knees.

The boy didn’t answer right away. Instead, the eyes narrowed and Minato found himself on the other side of a scrutinizing and vaguely suspicious look. He tried to project himself as friendly as possible, smiling a harmless and open grin, but wasn’t sure how well he succeeded. The grin felt a little strained against the butterflies that had suddenly flared to life in his stomach at seeing that mirroring blue-eyed gaze.

“Where’s old man-Hokage?” the boy asked, completely ignoring Minato’s question.

Now it was Minato’s turn to pause as he deliberated his answer. “He’s not here,” he finally said. It was easy to tell whom the boy was referring to and, by the nature of the question, that Minato wasn’t going to get as much information on what had happened as he originally hoped. He could still learn some things, like whether this boy was another version of his own son who had survived past birth. Just the thought of the possibility sitting before him made the butterflies in Minato’s stomach whirl faster. He had to clear his throat before he could ask the next question. “Can you tell me what your name is?”

The boy looked up after having fallen into his own silent reverie. A wide smile split his face again and he bounced a little where he sat on the bed. “I’m Naruto!” he said with pride, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Uzumaki Naruto! What’s your name?”

Minato felt the air rush out of his chest. The butterflies now felt like a full blown maelstrom whipping through him and turning everything he knew upside down. It took a moment to draw in a full breath again and even that had more of a wheezing quality to it.

“Hey…hey mister?”

Naruto’s tenor voice slowly filtered into Minato’s conscious. He blinked, realizing the boy was waving a small hand in front of his face.

“Are you alright, mister?” Naruto asked peering at him, head tilted, “You look kinda pale…”

“I’m fine,” Minato managed to squeeze out, though even to his own ears he sounded anything but.

Naruto scrunched up his nose in clear confusion and disbelief, looking entirely too much like Kushina for Minato’s heart to take at the moment. He drew in a ragged breath but it didn’t seem to help. The room still held precious little air. Some distant part of his mind told him to pull it together, but looking up at his…son… again made that thought impossible.

Without realizing he was moving, Minato stood up and turned toward the door. “I just need some air…” he said as he hurried out of the room.

The door clicked closed behind him and Minato fell back against it, eyes closed, and head falling into his shaking hands. He was trembling, breath coming in ragged gasps as he attempted to regain air in his lungs. Sliding down to the hallway floor, he rested his elbows on his knees, face still in his hands. Images of the small, poisoned body of his son, killed by the Kyuubi’s chakra before even given a chance at life, and his spent and broken wife bubbled unwillingly to the surface. The memory of what had happened and the sight of what could have been clashed, dredging up the same pain he’d felt the last time he saw his wife and the only time he saw his son. He was vaguely grateful it was still so early in the morning and the hospital was relatively deserted. It wouldn’t do to have some hapless citizen come upon their Hokage having a break down in the hallway.

* * *

The door clicked closed behind the strange man as he rushed from the room and for a moment Naruto could only stare, smile slowly falling from his face. Several minutes went by and still the man didn’t return. Naruto’s gaze drifted to the rumpled bed spread in front of him, frown tugging at his lips. He didn’t know why everyone seemed to hate him so much. They only had to see his face, hear his name and the cold glare entered their eyes or they refused to look at him and left him alone. He didn’t know why and, worse, he didn’t know what to do about it, except become Hokage and that was so very far off in the future.

Naruto initially held a lot of hope for that blond man. He was the second person to wait for Naruto to wake up at the hospital, so naturally Naruto hoped the man would feel differently about him. But no, as soon as he’d said his name the man left, like all the others, looking upset and it didn’t seem like the man would be back. He was left alone again.

Sighing, Naruto glanced back to the window, shifting around to get a better view at the predawn village. It didn’t matter, he decided to himself. He’d wait for the Old Man to get back from wherever he’d gone and then he’d camp himself in the Hokage’s office and force the leader to spend some time with him. Maybe he’d paint a large portion of the village, then the Sandaime would have to see him if only to scold him. He chuckled to himself, picturing the familiar scene in his head, only to have a thoughtful frown take over his expression again.

There was an itch in the back of his head, a thought he couldn’t quite remember, but that didn’t want to fade. Thinking of the Sandaime only made it worse, like a persistent visitor that wouldn’t go away or his landlord when the rent was due knocking at his door. Yet, no matter how much he tried to grasp it, it slipped away, sliding under the surface to reappear elusive as ever. The more he tried the harder it became and the more persistent it was.

With another explosive sigh, Naruto threw himself back against the bed, arms spread wide, shaking his head in frustration. He glared into the middle ground before him. It was like a fly he couldn’t swat. He shook his head back and forth, giving up the fight and hoping if he ignored it the half-thought would go away.

It didn’t, but that didn’t stop Naruto from trying. He could be stubborn with the best of them. In trying not to think about the half-thought he couldn’t think, his mind turned back to the nightmare he had the night before.

Naruto hadn’t understood what was going on, all he knew was he woke up to distant shouts out in the village and the occasional explosion rocking through the night. Looking out his window, there were flames rising from the outskirts of town, staining the night in orange light. Out in the streets civilians gathered, pointing toward the escalating battle and calling to each other in frightened voices. Several started hurrying toward the shelter buried deep in the Hokage mountain, even though no shinobi were around to direct them to do so.

A few in the street made sharp gestures toward his window and though it was too dark to make out their faces, Naruto could picture the angry expressions and quickly drew back into his room. He bit his lip as another explosion and burst of flame flashed through the night sky. He ran to the door and double checked the dead bolt. He wanted to go to the shelter or, better yet, the Hokage Tower, knowing from experience the door wouldn’t hold long if necessary, but he was scared to head out into the streets with the growing number of frightened and angry villagers present.

Naruto was still trying to decide when the window shattered, exploding into the room as a figure burst through. It was thanks to the last two years of academy training and dodging Anbu after playing innumerable pranks that he was able to avoid the grab for him. For a moment, Naruto caught sight of the head band as the light from the window reflected off it, four vertical lines with a single horizontal slash through them. Then, he had to move again to keep from being cornered. A few more close calls and the intruder got angry, cursing under their breath as they drew out a kunai. Naruto dove for the door, but undoing the lock gave the other the opportunity to cut a deep slash across Naruto’s side. He fell to the ground, pain shooting through him. Instead of killing him, the shinobi hoisted him over their shoulder and retreated out the window of the destroyed room.

The rough handling only increased the pain in his side and soon Naruto felt dizzy. He made one last desperate attempt, managing to grab a kunai from the shinobi’s pouch and jamming the pointed edge into his kidnapper’s back. The enemy cried out in pain and tripped, sending them both tumbling onto a rooftop. Naruto staggered to his feet and desperately searched for a way down, but he could hear the other cursing and knew his time was up.

A sharp clang from behind him made Naruto turn and find two ANBU between him and his attacker. A third dropped down next to him and, without saying a word, scooped him up in their arms. They bound away, back across the roofs to the Hokage tower. Naruto briefly noticed the fighting had spread. Fires burned in more areas of the village and the cries of villagers rose into the night.

From there, the memory grew hazier and hazier. Naruto remembered something of Old Man Hokage taking him and carrying him through the halls, but there it stopped. Lying on the bed, staring into air above him as he listened to the quiet, he couldn’t detect any of the panic or distress that had happened. He had to assume it was a dream, but something was telling him it wasn’t. It didn’t feel so much like a dream as a memory. Though he wished with all his heart he’d only imagined the incident.

Thinking of the slash he took across his side, Naruto slowly lifted the hospital shirt he was wearing. He refused to believe the twinge of pain was anything but his imagination. Yet, when he looked at his side he couldn’t deny the bandage wrapped around the precise spot he’d been injured. He rolled over and looked out the window again at the undamaged and whole village less than an hour from waking in the early dawn of a new day.

It didn’t make sense! Naruto groaned, throwing himself on the bed again and pulling the pillow over his head. What made it worse was the half-thought was still there in his head. Thinking about something else hadn’t helped get rid of it at all.

Squirming around to a more comfortable position, Naruto resolved to go back to sleep. Maybe when he woke up again all of this would have turned out to be one big dream and he would be back in his own bed in his own apartment. If it didn’t turn out to be a dream, he’d march right over to the Old Man’s office and find out what had happened. With that decided he curled up and steadfastly ignored the half-thought still knocking at his brain.

* * *

Minato was still standing at the window in the hallway, watching the dawn spread over the village when Jiraiya came across him half an hour later. He was thankfully calm and collected by then. Though he didn’t know how he looked and he felt exhausted, at least he wasn’t collapsed on the floor crying like a little genin anymore.

“Here you are!” Jiraiya’s carefree voice boomed down the hallway. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, you’re usually in your office by now. What happened? You didn’t hurt yourself with one of those crazy experiments again, did you?”

Minato tried not to wince at the voice. He didn’t realize how much of a headache he had until he encountered his sometimes too loud sensei. He ran a hand over his face, pressing two fingers into his eyes a moment to counter the burning tiredness that had taken up residence.

“You look awful. Did you get _any_ sleep last night?” Jiraiya asked and Minato could just hear the eye roll mixed in with the concern in his voice.

“Not much,” he admitted, trying for an apologetic smile, but it came out more as a grimace. “Something…came up.”

“What happened?” Jiraiya asked, the jovial attitude dropping in an instant.

“Nothing drastic,” Minato said waving his hands with a nervous chuckle before he rethought the description, “Well…nothing dangerous…what I mean is nothing _immediately_ dangerous. You see…” He closed his mouth as he realized he was rambling. Even after ten years of being Hokage, his sensei could still make him feel like an inexperienced academy graduate. “Maybe you should just look for yourself,” and he gestured to the door next to them, still closed and still harboring his son.

Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow at him, a thick layer of confusion covering over the concern still hidden beneath. He didn’t ask anything more, though, simply went to the door, opened it and entered the room. Minato turned back to the window, still not ready to face the boy just yet. He had thought he had regained control of himself, but the prospect of reentering the room made his chest tighten, showing him how brittle that control was. So, instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and tried to prepare for when he did finally go in again.

It was only a few moments before Jiraiya reemerged, pulling the door closed behind him. The frown was more pronounced and his eyes were troubled and thoughtful, but that was all. “Kid’s still asleep… Minato, who is that?” There was a note of accusation in the question.

Minato let out a breath of relief at hearing Naruto was asleep. Maybe he could go in and just sit by the bedside. That wouldn’t be as difficult as talking to the boy, facing those eyes. “That is Uzumaki Naruto.”

His sensei’s shoulders stiffened and his face grew a hard. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking,” Minato said in an equally level voice. It was only just occurring to him the many problems he might have proving and explaining to everyone that the child in there was his own son, Naruto.

“Naruto’s dead. He died before he was born…” the older man drew in a breath the concern even heavier in his eyes. “I know you miss them, Kushina and Naruto, but wishing some strange boy was your son isn’t going to bring him back.”

“You’re telling me you didn’t notice the resemblance?” Minato asked, eyebrows rising. He turned away from the window as sunlight slowly washed across the village, bringing morning fully to the waking town.

Jiraiya shifted where he stood, glancing back to the closed door. “Well, yes…but blond hair and some facial resemblances don’t necessarily mean anything.”

“No, but I also know where he came from and that, more than anything, proves it’s not only possible but more than likely. He’s what my son would be if he had survived.” Minato ran another hand over his face grimacing at the equal parts confusion and concern warring with each other in the man before him. “I’m not explaining this well. I keep forgetting you don’t know.” His hand went to scratch the back of his head.

“No, you’re not,” Jiraiya agreed, the first hint of amusement resurfacing in his tone though the base layer was still serious. “If you’d bother getting more sleep you’d be able to think straighter. What don’t I know?”

“I can’t explain it all here. We’ll talk after he wakes up again in a secured location, and I’ll tell you everything. Until then, just trust me on this, that boy is my son…sort of…”

Jiraiya didn’t look convinced and the worry was still present in his gaze, winning the battle over confusion and trailed by something Minato refused to accept as pity. Minato turned to the door and entered the room again. A few steps brought him to the chair and he dropped into it with the air of an immovable rock. Behind him he could hear his sensei hovering at the doorway and feel the older man’s eyes on his back. He really should head to his office. People would start to question where he was as they trickled into work at the Tower. He had paperwork to take care of, mission reports to hear, but he didn’t care. The brief conversation with Jiraiya, speaking those words out loud had allowed a fraction of the truth to sink in past the painful memories. With each moment that passed the initial shock died away and Minato began to grasp what he was being given.

It was a second chance.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters have a lot fewer mistakes than I was expecting so either I did a better job editing the first time around than I remember or I'm just missing them all again. Hope you enjoyed it! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.


	4. Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who commented on this story and sent kudos! Editing has been much smoother than I thought it would be so updates are coming much quicker than planned, but that's a good thing.
> 
> We do some dimension-hopping ourselves in this chapter, but don't worry. It's pretty clear from context which world is the focus of the scene. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 4: Meetings**

The next time Naruto woke up he was surprised to find the same blond man from before still sitting by his bed. Though this time, instead of sleeping in a very uncomfortable looking position, the man was bent over a portable wooden table, grumbling under his breath, a stack of papers at his elbow. Only hours ago this stranger ran from the room just upon hearing Naruto’s name. Naruto was so shocked to see him back, sitting calmly at his bedside, that for a while all he could do was lie in his bed and stare.

“You know, I like the idea of you moving your office here,” another voice said, loud and buoyant. It was followed by a large man with long white hair and red facial paint that ran down either cheek from his eyes entering the room, gaze still directed down the hallway. Naruto shifted his eyes, keeping track of the stranger and remaining perfectly still. “The nurses here are _way_ better looking than that old battle axe of a secretary you have.”

“Chiyoko-san is very good at her job,” the blond man replied distractedly, flipping repeatedly between several different papers, pen held in his mouth and a frown of concentration on his face. “Plus, she doesn’t try to court me every chance she gets,” he added under his breath, causing the other man to let out a booming laugh.

The blond man glanced up just then. He looked toward Naruto, then back to his papers before snapping back to Naruto again, pen falling from his mouth. “N-Naruto-kun…you’re awake.”

“Uh…yeah!” Naruto replied, pushing himself up with a smile and keeping one eye on the blond man at all times. The last time the man had been so upset and now he looked almost cheerful, except for the brief glare that he sent toward his paperwork. Naruto didn’t understand the change in attitude and wasn’t sure he trusted it or the man sitting by him.

The man hesitated a moment, smile faltering for the briefest of seconds. “So…how are you feeling?”

“I feel fine. Is Old Man Hokage back?” Naruto asked, hoping that he was. Though, if that was true then the Old Man probably would be there already. A half a snort, half choking sound drew Naruto’s attention to the white haired man in the room.

“Who do you think you’re talking to, kid?” the big man asked with a smirk on his face.

Naruto tilted his head, a small frown pulling at his lips.  “I don’t know, he didn’t tell me his name.”

“Namikaze Minato,” the blond man spoke quickly, cutting off any possible reply from the bigger man but gesturing toward said man, “And this is Jiraiya-sensei. The Sandaime…I’ll explain that later.”

“When?” Naruto asked, shifting his gaze between the two.

“When you get discharged from the hospital,” Minato said, glancing sharply to the other man, Jiraiya, who just folded his arms over his chest.

Naruto frowned as he watched the two. He felt like something was going on that he wasn’t quite getting, not an uncommon occurrence but still unpleasant. He could sense hostility with no problem. He had too much experience with the villagers not to do so, but the more subtle social tensions often went over his head. Besides, the itch in the back of his head had started again, that half-thought that kept knocking somewhere in his conscious. Mentioning the Sandaime had brought it to the fore, though he got the feeling it had never really left. It was distracting at best and frustrating at worst. He cast around to find something to distract him from the nagging, half-remembered thought.

“When can I leave?” Naruto asked, focusing on getting out of the hospital. He didn’t like hospitals in the first place and avoided them at all costs. The nurses were never very nice to him and he was usually left till last for any sort of treatment. Most of the time, it wasn’t an issue. He healed quickly enough that the hospital wasn’t necessary, or the visit was very short, and the Sandaime always came to get him. Now, however, the Sandaime wasn’t here and the hospital gave him far too much time to dwell on the half-thought.

Minato’s lips quirked a little, “Well, since you’re feeling better I don’t see why you can’t leave now.” He stood up, knocking a few papers to the floor before leaving the room.

Naruto smiled at the retreating back, dismissing the suspicion in favor of enjoying one of the few who didn’t scowl at him. At first, he hadn’t been sure whether Minato liked him. The man reacted so strangely at first, but now he was acting nice and it was the second time he’d sat and waited for Naruto to wake. The boy smiled to himself, looking down at the covers the nagging half-thought forgotten for the moment. The only one who had ever done anything remotely like that was the Old Man.

“So what’s you name kid?” the other man, Jiraiya, asked while leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his wide chest.

“Uzumaki Naruto,” Naruto replied puffing out his chest as he crossed his own arms. He eyed the older man with a hint of a challenge in his eye, daring the man to make something of it.

Surprisingly, though, Jiraiya had no obvious reaction apart from a little stiffening of the shoulders. Naruto hoped it was because of his reputation as a prankster and not that mysterious other thing that everyone seemed to hate about him. “Uzumaki Naruto, huh?” the man repeated, half to himself, “That’s an unusual name. Where’d you get it?”

Naruto froze. He had never really thought about his name before, besides the obvious connection with ramen. “I guess…my parents must have given it to me…” he said voice dropping off at the end. He didn’t think about his parents when he could help it. The daily loneliness was painful enough without dwelling on it more than necessary.

“Where are your parents?”

Naruto looked down at his hands, done with the conversation. “I don’t… have any now.”

Jiraiya didn’t say anything for a moment and Naruto could feel his eyes on him but refused to return the gaze.

“Well, that’s too bad, kid,” the man said after another moment, his voice a little softer, “You seem to be doing well, though.”

Naruto let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He could play this game. “Oh yeah!” he said, looking up with a big smile on his face, “I’m fine, got my own place and everything. Besides, Old-Man-Hokage checks in on me when he can.”

“When was the last time the Sandaime checked in on you?” Jiraiya asked, a hint of something unidentifiable in his voice.

Naruto didn’t dwell on it. The half-thought was back again and stronger than ever. He frowned, scrunching his nose as he forced himself to focus on the question, tilting his head to the ceiling in thought. “Well…I thought I saw him last night in the Hokage Tower. I was sure it must have been a dream but…it seemed so real…” He shook his head to clear it a little. “Before that, a week ago.”

Jiraiya didn’t have time to answer. The door opened and Minato came in followed by a nurse. Naruto looked up and watched as they came closer. Minato smiled at him and he beamed back. It wasn’t often he got smiles so he always made sure to return the few he did get. To his surprised the nurse smiled as well, making his grin split wider.

“Well, you seem to be in better shape,” the nurse said, smile never leaving her face. Naruto was sure that she must have been new. “I’ll just do a quick check and if everything is alright, you can go.”

Excited at the idea of leaving and encouraged by the continued kind tone from the nurse, Naruto scrambled out from under his blankets and to the edge of the bed. The nurse stepped closer and placed a glowing hand near his side where he had been injured. Her brow furrowed a little, making Naruto shift uncomfortably, but at his movement she smoothed her expression.

“You’re much more healed than I would have expected,” she said straightening up a moment later, “A little anemic, perhaps, you should definitely eat better, but there’s no reason for you to stay here any longer.”

Naruto only beamed again, more than ready to leave.

“I’ll go get the paperwork for his release.” The nurse turned and left the room with a parting smile for Minato.

Naruto shouted with happiness, jumping off the bed. He spun around, looking for his shoes when he realized he was still wearing hospital pajamas. “Where’s my clothes?” He looked back to Minato who had turned to gather his own papers and scrolls from the floor.

“Oh,” Minato paused, realization dawning on his expression, “Those were too far gone to save. We’ll get you a change of clothes on the way to the Hokage Tower.” He glanced to Jiraiya who was watching the interaction with a carefully blank face, eyes lingering on Naruto a little too long for comfort.

“Too far gone?” Naruto repeated, hand going to his side a moment and feeling the bandage under the thin cotton shirt. He still didn’t want to believe the attack could have been real. “But it had to have been a dream,” he said to himself, looking toward the window and the untouched village behind it.

“What was that?”Jiriaya asked, leaning forward and drawing Minato’s attention from reorganizing his papers.

Naruto shook his head, dismissing the matter. “Just a dream I had last night,” he repeated out loud, as determined to deny the dream-memory as he was with the half-thought.

“You can tell us all about your dream when we get back to the office,” Minato cut in as he turned back to his papers, stuffing a much too large stack into a brown folder. “In fact, I insist on it.”

Naruto just shrugged looking for his sandals again. He didn’t care whether he told anyone about his dream. He really didn’t. It wasn’t as though the attack had happened so it didn’t matter if he talked about it. He repeated that thought over and over in his head as he pulled up the overhang of sheets to peer under the bed. There, just past the edge, were his ninja sandals. He pulled them out and tugged them on, determinedly ignoring the rusty-brown stains splashed across parts of his footwear.

When he was done, Naruto looked up just in time to see Minato pushing one thick, brown folder into Jiraiya’s hands before picking up the other himself. “Ready, N-Naruto-kun?” Minato asked, a slight stutter at the name.

Ignoring the hesitance and focusing instead on the smile Naruto headed out the door, followed closely by Minato and then Jiriaya. They made their way down to the front desk, intercepting the nurse before she could bring the paperwork up to the room. Minato signed the release forms and started pushing the other two out the main doors before anyone in the lobby could start up a conversation.

They walked through the village streets, Minato leading the way, Naruto close by his side, and Jiraiya trailing behind grumbling under his breath about carrying Minato’s paperwork. Naruto couldn’t help scanning the areas they passed as he looked for evidence of last night’s battle, but the buildings were fine, whole and undamaged. The villagers milled about their business unaware of the violence that wracked their homes the night before. Naruto frowned as he tried to reconcile the scene he remembered from the attack with the calm morning streets around him.

He was so focused on his thoughts that Naruto didn’t notice Minato stopping directly in front of him at a street stand. As a result, he walked right into the man’s legs, and would have fallen to the ground save for Minato’s hand shooting out to stop his fall.

“Careful,” Minato admonished, but there was no rebuke in the words, “You don’t want to fall and hurt yourself right after leaving the hospital.”

Naruto only blinked at him, unsure of how to respond. Instead he looked at what they’d stopped for, eyeing the street-side stand filled with generic clothes, cheap jewelry, and sandals. The stall owner smiled down at him which made Naruto blink again. This was…strange.

“We’re only going to get something for you to wear temporarily, until we have the time to get some more clothes for you,” Mintao said, leafing through the folded shirts. “Anything’s better than those hospital pajamas, right?” He held up a plain black tee-shirt checking its size before turning his attention to the pants.

Naruto could only nod dumbly as he watched the man pull out a pair of cargo shorts and hold them up to him as well. He brought a hand up to his head, wondering if he’d hit it before waking up in the hospital. Looking around, Naruto noticed with a start that everyone was acting strangely. No one was glaring at him. A few people stared, confused eyes sliding between Naruto and Minato as the blond man paid for the clothes, but the looks didn’t contain the animosity that he was accustomed to receiving every time he left his door.

Jiraiya, standing next to them, wore a frown as he eyed first Naruto then Minato, but Naruto couldn’t tell if the frown was directed specifically toward him or toward the other man for making Jiraiya carry the heavy folder. Minato dropped a few coins into the stall owner’s hand with a soft clink, and then passed the clothes to Naruto. Naruto barely had time to gape at the shirt and shorts before Minato was moving through the streets. Jiraiya gave him a gentle push and he hurried to catch up with the blond man.

They wove their way through increasingly busy streets. Minato moved quickly, dodging through the crowd with experience, though not so fast as to lose Naruto or Jiraiya. Still, Naruto was thankful that he had so much practice running through crowded streets as he strove to keep up with the man. Around them people called out greetings and waved to Minato who replied back with his own quick welcome, but passed them before they could say anything more. Soon, they were at the Hokage Tower.

Despite knowing that the Sandaime wasn’t there, Naruto still hoped that he would find the Old Man sitting behind his desk buried in paperwork when they got to the office. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something strange was happening. Some of the strange things were nice. He certainly didn’t mind when Minato smiled at him or the lack of open anger and dislike from the people in the streets, but he couldn’t understand why it had all suddenly changed. The dream or memory or whatever it was hung heavy on his mind, as well. It made his stomach flutter for some reason he couldn’t quite identify, and all the while that annoying half-thought lingered at the edge of his conscious.

They climbed the stairs to the Hokage’s floor and Naruto found he couldn’t stop himself. He ran down the hall to the office door, skidding to a stop in front of it. Banging a quick knock, he grabbed the handle and tried to yank open the door. It wouldn’t budge no matter how much of his slight body weight he threw into it.

“That isn’t going to work,” Minato called, coming up behind him. “Here, let me get the door.”

Naruto watched as the man tucked his folder under his arm and ran through some hand signs. They flashed by so fast Naruto couldn’t keep track of them, not that he was very good at hand seals yet anyway. A seal flared on the wood in front of them, faded, and then Minato turned the knob opening the door with ease. He shifted the thick folder to one hand and glanced to Naruto. “There’s a bathroom a few doors down if you want to change into those clothes right now. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course. Just…in case you do.”

Naruto didn’t say anything right away. He knew where the bathroom was. He’d hidden there once while avoiding ANBU after setting a trap for unsuspecting civilians in the market place. Instead, he poked his head past Minato and snuck a quick look at the desk on the other end of the room.

It was empty.

Pulling back quickly, Naruto could feel his heart sink. They had said the Hokage was gone for some reason, but he still couldn’t help but hope that they’d been lying to him. It had happened before, after all. From the empty desk though, it looked like Minato was telling the truth and, as novel as that was, he would rather have had the lie. It would have been something familiar amongst the growing number of subtle changes that he noticed.

Hoping to mask his disappointment at not finding the Old Man, Naruto nodded his head quickly before hurrying down the hall to the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and hugged the new set of clothes to his chest, unable to understand the sudden nervousness that gripped him. The clothes didn’t offer any comfort, instead they only made things worse. They smelled strange, not like the market usually smelled. It wasn’t a very noticeable difference, but something very subtle that he probably wouldn’t have caught if not for all the other strangeness that had put him on edge.  He slid down the door till he was sitting on the ground, knees pulled tight to his chest, crushing the shirt and shorts between, trying and failing to understand it all.

* * *

Jiraiya eyed the boy as he scurried to the bathroom, disappearing behind the door. There was the faint click of a lock and Jiraiya turned, following Minato into the office. He dropped the heavy folder of forms and reports into one of the chairs sitting along the wall and watched the blond man with a careful eye.

His former student was busy clearing his desk of paper work that had accumulated that morning, stacking it off to the side, on the floor, on the side table, wherever he could find room. Normally, Minato would get right to work on the piles and have them significantly reduced if not completed by lunch time. Then, he would move on to some other project or duty with barely a chance to stop and eat.

Minato’s workaholic tendencies had always worried Jiraiya, especially in those first few years after Kushina’s and Naruto’s death. The man buried himself in activity to avoid dwelling on the tragedy and the relentless pace only got worse as the years went by. For a short time, Jiraiya had tried to distract his former student by finding other, healthier outlets to work through his grief or at least keep his mind busy. Most had failed, though to be honest, most had been various women thrown in Minato’s path hoping he’d find a second true love. Jiraiya wasn’t too surprised when none had worked out and gave up eventually. In the end, he settled with encouraging Minato to engage hobbies that would at least prove useful or fun rather drowning in endless hours of office work.

Jiraiya still hated seeing the person that he viewed almost as a son skate so close to the edge of exhaustion and burnout while Jiraiya himself couldn’t to lift a finger to stop it.

Despite the obvious sleep deprivation of the night before, the man now before him was still the same energetic Hokage that Jiraiya had come to know in the past eight years, but there was something different. The energy was not quite so manic. It seemed more excited and…happy, if a little nervous as Minato swept over his work space shoving piles of work, scrolls, and books out of the way.

It would have made Jiraiya happy, himself, to see some life coming back into Minato except for the source of the change. His eyes flicked to where he knew the bathroom to be and he frowned. If the boy turned out to be anything other than Minato’s “sort of” son, he feared that would be the final crack needed to destroy the younger man. Jiraiya was not going to allow that to happen and if he had to protect Minato from a mere boy he would do so by any means necessary.

Turning around, Jiraiya moved back to the door and glanced out into the hallway. The bathroom was still closed and there was no sign of the boy anywhere else. ANBU littered the building, so worrying about the child wandering off was not a major concern. He turned back into the room and closed the door behind him.

“Minato-kun,” Jiraiya said, voice completely serious, “Are you sure that you’re thinking this through?”

“Yes, of course,” Minato said with a dismissive wave of the hand as he gathered up coffee mugs from around his desk to take back to the office kitchen. The Hokage counted them softly, a surprised look on his face at the large number of stolen cups.

Jiraiya let out a sigh before he raised his voice just the slightest bit. “Minato. Stop.”

The tone, usually used for flustered genin and chunin brought Minato to a halt. He looked at Jiraiya with surprise before recognizing the set face and narrowed eyes. “Alright,” he said. He placed the mugs down on a side table, straightening his shoulders and settling himself into his desk chair, “What’s bothering you?”

Looking at the younger man, Jiraiya had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes, the clasped hands and overly straight posture hardly encouraged an easy discussion but he plowed on anyway, determined to voice his concerns. “I’m worried you’re investing too much into this boy without knowing anything about him. What proof do you have that’s he’s your son? So he has a name, anyone could have gotten hold of that name. Even his looks could be manufactured or arranged, Orochimaru himself was experimenting with cloning and genetic manipulation before he was discovered and thrown out of the village. How do you know this isn’t some trick or ploy to get to you? You have enough enemies out there with enough power to try something like this. How do you know?”

Minato stiffened with every word, face going carefully blank as his knuckles slowly turned white from their tightening grip. Jiraiya saw all the warning signs of oncoming tension and anger but didn’t stop. He needed to get this off his chest, hurt feelings be damned.

“I don’t want you to get hurt and relive the same loss you faced eight years ago,” the older man continued in a softer tone, “Even if the boy is completely innocent of any ill intention, he’s clearly addled. He told me he saw the Sandaime only a week ago, that Sarutobi looks after him sometimes.”

When Jiraiya wound down, Minato took a deep breath and waited a moment before asking in a quiet voice, “Are you finished?”

Only silence greeted the question. Jiraiya had nothing more to say before seeing Minato’s reaction.

“I…appreciate the concern,” Minato said after another moment, shoulders slowly relaxing as he absorbed Jiraiya’s objections, “and I can see how, from your position, those would be valid considerations, but you don’t have all the facts yet.”

“You said that before,” Jiraiya said, encouraged by Minato’s understanding tone, “What are you not telling me?”

The younger man huffed to himself, running a hand over his face before he slouched down in his chair. “We really should wait for Naruto to get back, he may have some information, although I’m not sure how much of it will be useful after our talk last night. Still, he deserves to hear about where he is as much as anyone.”

“Does this have anything to do with the dream he had last night?” Jiraiya asked with a sigh. He wouldn’t be getting anything out of Minato until the kid came back.

“Did he tell you about his dream?” Minato asked, perking up at the reminder.

“No,” Jiraiya said, slouching against the wall and making himself comfortable, “But he got a strange look in his eye when he brought it up.”

Minato nodded, his eyes falling from Jiraiya to the cleared desktop in front of him, a frown forming on his face. “If there’s anything we will need to worry about, I have a feeling it will be that dream.”

Jiraiya’s own eyes narrowed at that, liking the sound of that statement less than he did the thought of a strange boy suddenly appearing and claiming to be the Hokage’s son. “You don’t think it was a dream.”

Minato looked back up to him and Jiraiya could see the complete conviction in the depths of his blue eyes. “No, I don’t.”

* * *

Pain stared at the blank wall, face as impassive as always despite his racing thoughts. He remained that way, puzzling over the wall, even when one of his shinobi dropped down behind him, landing on one-knee, head bent in deference. Silence stretched out as the shinobi waited to be recognized and Pain was fine with making him wait. He was still pondering the wall.

“Report,” he said finally, voice low and emotionless.

“Sir,” the shinobi said, still in his bent position on one knee, “We have control of sixty percent of the city as well as the front gate. We have, however, sustained heavy casualties along with the Iwa forces, though reports of the Konoha shinobis’ forces indicate the same. There is some concern over the lack of proof of death for the majority of high ranking Konoha shinobi. There is also no indication of the location of Uzumaki Naruto.”

Pain listened to the report with half an ear. Most he knew or could guess already. He let the silence stretch out a little longer, indifferent to the tension he could feel from the man at his feet. “Send for our seal breakers, have them report here. Make sure the Iwa forces do not hear of this,” he said, breaking the stillness that had fallen in the dark hallway.

The shinobi nodded with a respectful, “Hai, Pain-sama,” and disappeared as quickly as he came.

Pain waited until the shinobi was well away from that position before stepping forward and placing a hand on the wall. He knew the Kyuubi container had disappeared. His spy inside the tower had reported that the last sighting of the boy had been with the Hokage heading for this area in the depths of the Hokage Tower. After searching the surrounding rooms, their contents, their floor plans, and the distinct chakra signature lingering around that section of wall, he could only conclude there was another door hidden from view.

Konan appeared in a flutter of paper beside him, content to wait in silence.

“The Hokage brought him here,” Pain said without preamble. The woman beside him made no comment on the lack of a door.

“It will take the seal breakers some time,” Konan said, “We can expect a counter attack soon and this area will be one of the first targets.”

“The Kyuubi is half our purpose for being here, we cannot allow it to escape or remain hidden.”

The seal cracking team arrived, breathless, and hurried to kneel.

Pain did not bother looking at them, only gesturing to the wall as he turned back toward the exit and upper floors beyond the staircase. “I want that door opened,” he said and was gone, leaving behind the confused faces of his subordinates.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love critiques and am always trying to better my writing so don't hesitate to tell what you like, hated, or what can be improved upon. Since this story's already complete, I won't be making any major changes, but critiques help me with future stories including any possible continuations of this world. Thanks!


	5. Possibilities

**Chapter 5: Possibilities**

Minato took one last deep breath, relieving the tension that had built up in his shoulders during Jiraiya’s little speech. Naruto seemed wary enough around them without either of them giving him more of a reason to be nervous. When he thought about it from Jiraiya’s position, he could see why his sensei was concerned and he was grateful, but he still hoped Jiraiya would come around once the other world was explained. Minato also wanted to have his sensei’s opinion on what might have happened. The elder man ran an international spy ring and had knowledge and experience in areas that Minato had no access.

The doorknob jiggling drew Minato out of his thoughts as the door opened and Naruto entered the room. The clothes fit well enough in length, but seemed a little baggy. Minato made a note to himself to feed the boy more as well as have Rin or Tsunade run a complete checkup. Naruto’s steps slowed a moment when he looked up and saw Minato sitting behind the Hokage’s desk. Minato winced at the shadow that passed over Naruto’s face. He should have thought ahead to what the child would think at seeing another sitting behind what Naruto still thought of as the Sandaime’s desk, but if all went well they could clear everything up soon.

Standing up from his seat, Minato nodded toward the door again. “Sensei, would you get that end of the room?”

Jiraiya nodded and closed the door before locking it and running through the hand signs to activate the privacy seals. Minato closed the windows and ran through the same signs for the other side of the room. Along the walls symbols flared to life before dying again and an unnatural stillness fell over the room as noise from the outside world was blocked.

Satisfied, Minato turned back to the other two. “I wish Kakashi could be here, but he’s not due back to the village for a few days and he already knows half of it so that can wait.” He paused a moment as he gathered his thoughts, “Several months ago I started a project to recreate the Sandaime’s seeing crystal.”

“Couldn’t make it work, could you?” Jiraiya cut in, a hint of mocking in his voice and a smirk tugging at his lips.

“No,” Minato admitted in a flat voice with a blank expression. He refused to give Jiraiya the chance to gloat or any great amount of satisfaction out of this, “You were right, there, now we can move on. One of the prototypes I developed had an…unexpected result. When I activated the chakra crystal, I found myself looking at the Sandaime.”

The brief flash humor died from Jiraiya’s face replaced by serious contemplation. “Not the afterlife,” he said, more as a statement than question.

“No,” Minato agreed more soberly as well, noticing the confusion on Naruto’s face and hurried to explain. “After talking to him we both determined it was a window between two separate worlds, what could have happened but didn’t.”

The older man’s eyes went wide before collapsing into a deep frown. “How can you be sure it was the real Sandaime and not some trick?”

“I questioned him thoroughly,” Minato replied with a nod. “He knew things only the real Sarutobi Hiruzen would know as well as some of the Sandaime’s signature moves and he did the same to me.”

“But-“ Naruto cut in, face scrunched up like Kushina’s again. This time, though, the painful stab to Minato’s heart wasn’t quite as sharp. “What do you mean how things could have happened?”

Minato brought a hand to his chin as he leaned against the desk thinking for a moment. “Let me explain it this way. Every time you make a choice in life there are two possible outcomes. Like…if you were walking down the road and you came to an intersection. Your day might be different depending on if you went left or right. Well, for each decision you make another version of reality is created somewhere else where another version of you made the opposite choice.”

“Of course, there’s an opposing theory that says given the same situation with the same variables and same knowledge a person would make the same choice,” Jiraiya cut in with a casual wave of his hand.

Naruto’s face which had started to clear up from its confusion only scrunched up again, looking back and forth between the two men. Minato shot his sensei a glare that sent the older man back a step, hands coming up in a placating gesture. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Minato guided Naruto to one of the chairs facing his desk and kneeled down in front of him.

“Ignore him. He’s just gotten into the bad habit of trying to distract me. The point is that there are many versions of the world out there, like rooms in a house, and I managed to open a window into one of those other rooms... Do you understand?”

 Minato held his breath a little as he watched his son’s face scrunch up in concentration. He glanced up to his sensei and noted with relief that some of the tension had left the older man’s shoulders. Even if Naruto didn’t fully understand, the important thing right now was getting Jiraiya on his side. Kakashi already knew about the crystal. He was one of the few besides Minato that did, so there was nothing to worry in that quarter. If he could convince Jiraiya, he would also have a good chance with Tsunade.

“It seems really complicated,” Naruto finally said, a frown still on his face.

“That’s alright, Naruto-kun,” Minato replied silently cheering at managing to say his son’s name out loud without stuttering. He placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders for a moment before pushing himself up to his feet again, then leaned back against the desk and folded his arms over his chest. “You said you had a dream last night. Could you tell me about it?”

Naruto didn’t say anything for a moment, eyes focused on his hands in front of him, frown pulling down at the corners of his mouth. “…I was in my apartment when something woke me up. There was a battle going on out at the edge of the village. Then, someone broke into my apartment. I tried to get away but they got my side with a kunai and grabbed me. I was able to get away, kinda, when some shinobi with masks appeared and rescued me. One of them brought me to Hokage Tower. I think Old Man Sandaime took me down to the lower halls in the Tower but I can’t remember anything after that. There was fighting everywhere and all the civilians were heading for the shelters. It seemed so real, but…everything’s fine in the village now and it doesn’t make sense.”

Naruto looked up to him, eyes wide and confused, and Minato wished he could say something comforting. That it was all a dream and Naruto’s home world wasn’t plunged into war, but he couldn’t lie. The boy must have seen it there in Minato’s mirroring blue eyes because he blink and looked off to the window where the village spread out around them, full swing into another normal day.

“It wasn’t a dream, was it?” Naruto asked, with resignation.

“No, it wasn’t,” Minato said, voice soft as he explained. “The attack happened in your version of events. Here, there was never any attack and the Sandaime from this world died years ago during an uprising.”

The blond head snapped back to Minato eyes wide again. “The Old Man’s dead?!” he cried in alarm.

Minato winced as he realized he could have broken that news a little more delicately. “The Sandaime from this world,” he clarified quickly, “The one you know is fine…probably…” He trailed off at the end, belatedly realizing that if the other world was in the midst of a war, if Konoha itself was under attack, there was no guarantee that Sarutobi was alright.

Looking at the sheer relief on Naruto’s face, though, Minato found he didn’t have the heart to explain that to the boy. He grimaced to himself at the thought of something happening in that other place. It was clear the boy cared deeply for the Old Man, Naruto kept asking about him and the disappointment at not finding the Sandaime in the office had been written over the boy’s face.

“Do you remember anything else?” Minato asked, eager to steer the conversation away from Sarutobi’s death.

Naruto crossed his arms and tilted his head to the ceiling, brow furrowed. He muttered to himself for a moment before he spoke slowly, “The one who grabbed me had a weird hitai. It had a bunch of lines on it. Before that, I’d never seen it.”

Minato frowned in thought. A bunch of lines? It sounded like Amegakure, but they would never have the resources for an invasion of Konoha. Then again, he was completely unfamiliar with that other world’s political situation. He gritted his teeth, suddenly wishing he’d gotten more information on what had bothered the Sandaime so much. As it was, Minato had little to no understanding what was happening in that other place and why.

“Do you remember anything else?” Jiraiya asked, his voice breaking into Minato’s thoughts.

Naruto shook his head, his shaggy blond swung back and forth. “How should I know what was going on?! No one ever tells me anything!” he complained in a loud voice.

“Of course not,” Jiraiya said dismissingly, “You’re just a brat. Wait till you get older.”

Naruto scowled shoulders hunching as he looked at the older man.

Jiraiya ignored the glowering eight year old, taking a few steps closer to Minato’s desk. “Do _you_ remember anything from your conversations?”

“The last few weeks he was stressed about something, you could see it, and he was increasingly busy, too busy to talk. He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, though,” Minato replied as he ran through his last several conversations with the older Hokage in his mind.

“Has anything else come through?” Jiraiya’s gaze flicked to Naruto before returning to Minato.

Minato had no difficulty deciphering what his sensei was implying. If one eight year old boy could come through, what else could? They had to consider the possibility of hostiles making their way from the other world. “Not yet. I’m not even sure how Naruto-kun came here since we only discussed the possibility in theory a few times. The Sandaime must have devised a way to send living things and objects through without my knowledge.”

“Where are you keeping it? I’d like to see,” Jiraiya turned toward the door.

Minato pushed up to his feet and followed, gesturing for Naruto to come along. “It’s down in the lower level. Seeing it might jog more of Naruto-kun’s memory.”

Naruto hopped off the chair, running to catch up with the two adults. He looked at Minato with a soft frown as he came up to the two men. “But…” he said uncertainly.

Minato let Jiraiya run through the hand signs to unseal the door. He looked down to his son with an encouraging smile. “What is it, Naruto-kun?” His smile widened. He was getting better at saying that name.

“If Old Man Sandaime isn’t the Hokage, then who is?”

Now, Minato smiled in embarrassment, though there was some pride behind the expression, somehow telling his son he was the Hokage made the position seem new and exciting again. “Me.”

“Minato- kun is the Yondaime Hokage,” Jiraiya said as he opened the door.

Minato followed his sensei to the hall, turning back when he didn’t hear Naruto’s footsteps close behind them. Naruto was staring at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

“The…Yondaime?” Naruto repeated, sounding more like a question. He crossed his arms and bent his head, intense concentration filling his expression. “But he died…killing the demon fox…Did that happen differently, too?”

“Yes,” Minato said, not having the heart to explain more than that at the moment. He was relieved Naruto seemed to be grasping the idea, but disappointed by the reaction at the same time. Then, looking into his son’s eyes as they slowly filled with admiration but still no recognition, it dawned on him. Naruto didn’t know who his parents were.

The realization took some of the excitement out of Minato. His son didn’t know him, only recognized him as some dead, distant hero from the village. The thought was depressing and Minato reminded himself that he would ask the Sandaime about it the next time they spoke. He opened his mouth ready to tell Naruto then and there who he was, but Minato stopped himself.

Naruto already had enough dropped on him that day. The boy was still grappling with the idea of different realities and an invasion in his home world. It wouldn’t be fair to put more on the eight year old. Minato silently promised he would tell Naruto, and soon, just…not now.

Smiling faintly, Minato turned back to the open door. Jiraiya was there, blocking the way and watching the two of them. Minato was grateful to see more understanding than suspicion in his sensei’s eyes. It was better than the pity he’d seen at the hospital. Nodding once, Jiraiya moved aside and the older blond swept past and led to the staircase.

They descended down to the first floor and moved to a separate staircase heading to the lower, more secure levels. The deeper they went the fewer people they saw until it was just the three of them, footsteps echoing through the long halls. The lighting was dimmer in this section of the Tower and there were more doors spread around the corridors, each with seals to prevent unauthorized personnel from entering sensitive areas.

Next to him, Minato could feel Naruto draw closer as they walked through the silent halls. He glanced down to see the smaller blond head swiveling around with wide eyes. A part of him wanted to reach out and reassure the boy, even just a pat on the head, but he didn’t know how Naruto would react. Minato would be lying to himself if he said he knew what he was doing as well. He got along very well with children in general, but knowing Naruto was his son made things different, complicated.

Instead, he just smiled down to the boy next to him. “Don’t worry, Naruto-kun, there’s nothing here that will harm you.”

“I’m not _scared_ ,” Naruto insisted in a loud voice, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked away with an indignant pout, though Minato thought the effect was somewhat ruined on the small whiskered face.

“Of course not,” the dry voice of Jiraiya came up from immediately behind them.

Naruto didn’t get a chance to reply, though he had turned and opened his mouth to do just that. Minato stopped at the door leading to the crystal mirror, the last room in the corridor. “We’re here.”

Naruto’s head snapped back to their destination, eyes going wide again. Minato gently pushed his son off to the side and behind, giving himself room to open the door. He ran through the hand signs to unseal the room and release the entrance. It took longer than opening his office due to the sheer number and complexity of the seals put in place, especially with the extra measures he’d set up after finding Naruto. Jiraiya stepped up behind him and next to Naruto as the two watched Minato work.

At one point, Naruto started to say something, a questioning tone in his voice, but Jiraiya shushed him quickly and Minato maintained his focus on the door. When he was finished, he stepped back, letting out a deep sigh. Jiraiya strode past him, nodding approval at the long list of security seals on the door and surrounding walls.

The room was exactly as Minato left it. The mirror stood in the center, blank and relatively ordinary. The lights clicked on as they entered, throwing the shadows at odd angles. Minato’s eyes caught the spot of dried blood on the floor from where he found Naruto. His stomach gave a little lurch at thinking of his son’s blood on the floor. He would have to have it cleaned as soon as possible. The darkened spot also drew the Sannin’s attention and Jiraiya crouched down at the spot, examining it with a frown.

“That’s from when I found Naruto-kun,” Minato said in a low voice, moving a little closer, but still staying away from the remnant.

Jiraiya grunted and stood back up before turning to the mirror. “So this is what you use to contact the Sandaime.” It was a statement rather than a question.

 “Yes,” Minato answered though there was no need, there was nothing else in the room with which to contact anyone. “We’ve been conversing for several months now. I am convinced he is very similar if not the same man as he was here. He would not put us in jeopardy intentionally.”

“No, I agree with you there,” Jiraiya said as he circled the mirror, eyes alight with interest. “My concern is the others in his world. How did he send Naruto through, when you confess you don’t even know how to do that?”

Minato crossed his arms, nodding his agreement. “I intend to ask him the next time we speak. Actually, there are several things I’m going to ask him.”

“Is it wise to open it again, knowing that others can come through?” Jiraiya asked as he looked back at Minato.

“We should know what is going on and try to find out more about Naruto-kun. We’ll never know unless we get back in touch with them. Then, there is also that the mirror was closed on my end when Naruto came through. Plus, what if the threat they’re facing also exists in this world. I would rather have a warning than be blindsided by an unknown enemy.”

Jiraiya grunted his agreement then shook his head in mock exasperation. “You always get yourself in these types of situations. For being a genius, you sure seem to have a hard time taking it easy.”

Minato rolled his eyes, “Says the man who practically challenged me to the project that led to this in the first place. I plan on placing an ANBU guard or two on this now that we know things can come through.”

“It would be helpful if we could get any information on what happened in that world. Maybe the brat has remembered something after seeing this thing.”

“Naruto-kun,” Minato said, noticing just how quiet the boy was. He turned and looked back to the door and frowned.

Naruto was standing a few paces inside the room. He stared at the crystal mirror completely still, an intense look of concentration on his face.

“Naruto-kun?” Minato asked again, moving closer. He didn’t receive a response. Naruto didn’t even seem to hear him. “Naruto? Are you alright?” There was an edge of panic in his voice as he knelt down next to the boy.

Jiraiya hurried next to them. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he looked over Naruto.

“He’s not responding,” Minato said. He turned Naruto by the shoulders toward him, but his son’s gaze lay fixed on the crystal glass. Grasping the small chin, he gently turned Naruto’s head to face him but even then the eyes remained fixed on the device. Minato felt a hand squeeze his heart as every attempt to reach the boy failed.

Minato glanced back to the crystal. It stood dark and silent, reflecting back their own room in their own world instead of the other one where the Sandaime still lived. He didn’t know why it was having such an effect on his son, without being activated it was little more than a chakra crystal, but they could work that out after he got Naruto away from the mirror. Picking Naruto up, Minato swept himself and his son out the door.

* * *

Naruto had a strong sense of déjà-vu as he watched Minato run through hand signs, revealing multiple seals spread over the door and surrounding wall. The sensation wasn’t from earlier at the office door, either. It was something deeper than that and equally illusive. He shook his head clear and eagerly peered into the dimmed room curiosity peeked despite the creepiness of the setting.

Minato and Jiraiya entered ahead of him, crouching down around something on the floor and talking in lowered voices. Naruto’s gaze followed the Yondaime for a moment, still not believing he was with his hero, the famous Hokage that saved their village from destruction. Half of him expected to wake up, the same doubt about reality turning into a dream resurfacing, but it was the truth. He knew it.

Naruto looked over to the one object in the room besides the few lights lining the walls. It was a large, flat glass of some kind, maybe crystal, standing almost as tall as Minato. It reflected a muted image of the room back to them, their three figures shining vaguely on its glossy surface.

The moment he laid his eyes on it, Naruto found he couldn’t look away. The rest of the room faded to the background until it almost didn’t exist and it was just him and the crystal mirror staring at one another. He was waiting, he realized suddenly. Naruto didn’t know why, or for what but something was supposed to happen and he had to wait for it. He’d stand there staring at the crystal all day if he had to but he’d wait. It was important, vital even, though he couldn’t begin to explain it. For a moment, he thought he remembered something else, words being spoken to him. It was too blurry, though, too far out of reach to grasp fully, but aggravatingly important to remember.

“NARUTO!”

The sound of the voice calling his name made Naruto jerk, shaken at the sudden and loud sound. He looked up wildly, wondering what he could have possibly done to get in trouble when he’d just been standing there and looking.

With a start, Naruto realized they were out of the chamber and back in the hall. Minato was kneeling in front of him, the wide blue eyes staring into his with alarm.

“Naruto?” Minato said again, this time as a question.

Naruto blinked at him, still confused. “What?” he asked, faintly defensive, “I didn’t do anything!”

Minato let out a relieved sigh, his shoulders sagging as he held his grip on Naruto’s arms. Naruto frowned at the man. The Hokage wasn’t hurting him, but he still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the contact. Then, he found himself being pulled into a hug. Naruto froze, stiffening in the arms wrapped around him. He turned wide, bewildered eyes up to Jiraiya who was standing by the closed door.

“You weren’t responding,” the older man said. He turned to the door as started running through hand signs resealing the room.

“You scared me half to death,” Minato mumbled half to himself then pulled back suddenly, looking directly at Naruto. “What happened?”

Naruto squirmed under the gaze. He was used to staring but it seemed different when this Hokage did it. “I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head, “I just looked at that thing and…I don’t know.”

Minato let out another sigh, squeezing Naruto’s arms once more before standing up. “That’s enough surprises for one day, I think. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

“Where will I be staying?” Naruto asked, curiosity peaked, though he was still unnerved by what happened.

“With me,” Minato replied, steering Naruto back down the corridor.

“Minato-” Jiraiya spoke up from behind them but he was cut off by the Hokage.

“He’s staying with me.” His tone was final, ending any and all discussion about the topic.

Naruto blinked up in surprise at the blond just behind him. He didn’t know what to think about the entire situation. It was just too confusing. The only thing he was certain of was the relief at the prospect of getting a break from it all. More than anything, though, he wanted to get out of the lower corridors of the Hokage Tower. He didn’t know what type of house the Hokage lived in, but any place was better than the dark, echoing hallways, especially that room with the crystal.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going through these again makes me realize the last chapter and this one are really more explanation chapters than anything. Less fun, but kinda necessary. Hope you liked it anyway!


	6. Empty Rooms

**Chapter 6: Empty Rooms**

“Here we are!” Minato tried to inject as much enthusiasm into his voice as possible.

Since leaving the Hokage Tower, particularly the room housing the crystal glass, Naruto had been quiet. Minato didn’t know if this was normal for the boy. He knew very little about Naruto, unsurprising considering they just met, but that didn’t stop him from trying to cheer up the general mood.

 Arriving at the house seemed to distract them both. Minato smiled as Naruto’s head swiveled to and fro taking in as much of the house as he could. Customarily used by the Hokage, the building was located in a quieter section of the village, away from the busy center but still within the walls. It wasn’t the grandest house in the village. It was old and since its creation other, larger houses had gone up, but it still held a calm dignity. A small garden and lawn surrounded it on either side, though the grounds looked a little over grown. The house had two stories, the traditional style beautiful in its simplicity.

In all honesty, the house was too big for Minato and he sometimes hated returning to it at night. He only used a few rooms inside and spent as much time away from it as possible. Occasionally, he thought of moving into a smaller apartment. There was no rule or law saying the Hokage must live there, but Kushina had loved the house. She once said that it reminded her of the houses in Whirlpool before her country was destroyed, so Minato stayed.

Fumbling with the folders that had been thrust onto him by a frantic clerk before leaving the Tower, Minato unlocked the door. He nudged his son inside and turned, looking for his sensei. The Toad Sage had surreptitiously disappeared soon after leaving the Tower. Part of Minato was glad to have a moment alone with Naruto without Jiraiya’s cautious eye surveying every interaction between the two or move from the boy, but another part of him wondered what the old man was up to. Minato didn’t want to have to spend another afternoon smoothing over complaints from half the young women in the village.

Still, there was no sign of Jiraiya outside so Minato kicked the door closed with one foot and dropped his heavy stack of paperwork on the nearest flat surface before pulling off his sandals. He glared at the stack, quietly cursing his own inability to escape without the clerk’s notice. The desk ninja’s demeanor had quickly gone from shock to panic at finding out that the Hokage was leaving unexpectedly for an undetermined amount of hours without finishing the morning’s reports. One last glance at the loathed pile and Minato was fairly certain that the reports weren’t more likely to be finished at the house with Naruto around than if they had both stayed in his empty office.

Minato smiled at Naruto as the boy looked around the inside of the house as much as the outside. The entrance hall was one of the few places Minato still put effort into maintaining well. The furniture was simple and elegant dark wood, much of it predating Minato’s time in the house. On the rare occasions that visitors came to the house, they mostly kept to the entrance hall or the sitting room beyond the first main door.

Naruto wandered around the edge of the hall, closely examining everything and anything in reach, pulling open drawers and peering into the closet. He came to the sitting room entrance and poked his head in, Minato following behind him and doing the same. The older blond cringed as he saw the state of the room. It was relatively clean, free of dust and clutter with two couches placed facing each other in the center of the room around a low coffee table. The few extra chairs and side tables around the walls were straight as was the large bookshelf lining the far wall. The only things out of place were the books strewn all around the room, stacked on the coffee table, side tables, and couch cushions rather than on the shelves reserved for them.

“I meant to pick those up,” Minato muttered to himself, pulling Naruto away from the sitting room. “Well,” he said in a louder voice as he guided the boy toward the stairs, “I guess we should find you a room to stay in first.”

Naruto looked up at him surprise and excitement in his expression. “So I really get to stay here?” he asked eyes wide and bright. “And you don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t mind,” Minato said, half distracted as he thought of bed rooms that would be useable. He came out of his thoughts just long enough to smile down at his son, “I’m glad to have you stay.”

Minato started leading the way up the stairs but paused when he couldn’t hear the sound of steps behind him. He turned back and looked down. Naruto was still at the foot of the stairs, staring at the steps before him with a frown.

“Naruto-kun?” Minato asked.

“Why are you doing this?” Naruto asked, looking up at him.

The confusion and barest trace of suspicion in Naruto’s eyes hit Minato like a physical blow and for the first time he wondered what type of life Naruto had growing up alone in the village. He didn’t think that his son would be abandoned if things had been different. Still, there were little things, behavioral ticks, reactions, and comments like the last one which were making Minato nervous. He had a sinking feeling that he was not going to like what he found out about Naruto's life in the mirror world. It was yet another thing on the growing list of items to discuss with the Sandaime. He pushed it to the side, though. It was a topic for another time, in another place. Right now, his focus was on making Naruto comfortable with a room for the night.

Minato backtracked down the stairs and knelt so that he was level with the boy. "I'm doing this because I want to,"  _because you're my son_ , he added silently. He was tempted to just tell Naruto the truth, but he didn't know where to begin, didn't even know how to continue the conversation if he did manage to start. Instead, he found himself reaching out and grasping Naruto's shoulders. "I know this is probably very confusing but I promise I'll explain, at least what I understand of it. First, let's find you a room."

Naruto stared at Minato for a long moment and the man had the sudden feeling he was being weighed and measured. The confusion didn’t completely leave Naruto’s face but the frown smoothed out and his eyes brightened. Then, Naruto was running up the stairs, pulling away from Minato’s hands in a burst of energy. “Right! Do I get my own room? Which one is it?” he yelled, bare feet pattering on the wooden stairs.

Minato blinked in surprise and hurried to catch up. “Some of the rooms aren’t quite ready to have someone stay in them.” He got to the second floor and found Naruto poking his head into the first door on the right. “That room is my office,” he said pulling the boy away from the half open door. He caught a brief glance at the work space covered with books, scrolls, and half finished sealing experiments, what the sitting room could become if neglected for another few weeks. “You’re not to go in there unless I give you my permission or it’s an emergency. There’s sensitive material in there, and I don’t want you getting hurt, understood?” Minato pulled the door closed, trying to sound stern. There were some dangerous scrolls in there and several of the projects he was working on weren’t safe for an academy student. He reminded himself to place some security seals on the door just in case.

Luckily, the eight year didn’t seem interested in the room in the slightest. Naruto shrugged and hurried on to the next door. Minato followed suit and wrinkled his nose at the state of the neighboring room. Dust lay everywhere in the single bed room. There were boxes stacked on the floor and the bed frame was bare of its mattress. Minato spotted it leaning up against the corner. It took him a moment to remember that the room had been turned into storage years ago. “This one won’t do.”

“You can say that again,” Naruto mumbled and pulled away from the door and headed the other way down the hall to the left of the stair case.

The next room was in a similar state, but lacked the boxes and had a mattress that was at least on the bed. Looking into rooms he hadn’t physically visited for years, Minato felt surprisingly embarrassed. “I don’t use these rooms much, haven’t needed to.”

“That’s ok!” Naruto called, heading to the next door. He seemed more excited by the act of exploring than anything else. “I don’t like cleaning either.”

Minato frowned to himself. That wasn’t the impression he had wanted to give to his son. He really was a neat person. Besides the habit of leaving his reading everywhere, he had always been the neater of the two when compared to Kushina. Most of the rooms in the house simply weren’t needed, considering how little he was there, so he never used them. He added cleaning out the house on his list of things to do. Maybe he would have some genin go through the empty rooms as a D rank mission.

The third room held a greater surprise than the two before it. Managing to open the door before Naruto, Minato stopped at seeing Jiraiya running a hand over a plain bureau, the Sanin’s large pack sitting on the bed, curtains rustling on either side of an open window.

“Minato-kun, you need a maid,” the older man said before Minato could speak, “Preferably a young, pretty, and single one.”

The bachelor Hokage rolled his eyes at the comment. “What are doing, Sensei?” He pushed the door open wider, letting Naruto into the room. This one didn’t seem too bad. The dust was only a thin layer and the bed was already made. He eyed the pack sitting on the same bed.

“What does it look like?” Jiraiya said, brushing the dust off his hands and smiling at both blonds. “Here I am in town, needing a place to stay, and I thought what better place than my old student’s house? He has more room than he can stand and wouldn’t turn away an old friend.”

“No bath house this time?” Minato asked, a knowing smirk on his face.

“What? And neglect my favorite student?” Jiraiya asked, exaggerated shock in his voice. “It’s almost like you don’t want me to stay. That hurts. I thought you would appreciate the company.”

Minato rolled his eyes again, but the smile stretched a little wider and there was more relief in it than humor. Minato was starting to feel a little out of his depth. He’d been living alone for so long and suddenly an eight year old was in his care. The thought of having help was a relief and it would mean that his sensei would be close at hand to help with any situations. “We’d be glad for the company, wouldn’t we, Naruto-kun?”

Naruto looked startled to be included in the statement, wide, surprised eyes shooting up to Minato’s smiling face then moving to Jiraiya’s before a low smile spread over his own. “Yeah!” Naruto cried, a little louder than necessary, “That’d be great! Now there’s three of us! We just need to find one more room then!” and he was off, shooting out of the room and down the hall.

Minato glanced after the streak of blond hair and saw Naruto open the door to another room that he knew was a closet. The boy’s enthusiasm was contagious, like Kushina’s had been, and he smiled back to Jiraiya who was shaking his head.

“That kid better not be that energetic all the time. I’m too old to deal with loud brats,” the smile on the man’s face as he turned to his pack undermining the complaint.

“He’ll probably run you into the ground if he is, Old Man,” Minato said, adding after a moment, “He’ll probably run me into the ground. I wonder where he gets it all.” He thought of the seal that he saw on Naruto’s stomach. He had forgotten about it after everything that had happened. Putting a hand into his pocket, Minato pulled out the scroll which he copied Naruto’s seal onto, “Here, look at this. Tell me what you think of it in private after we find Naruto a room.”

His serious tone made Jiraiya look at him and then at the outstretched scroll. He took the scroll pulling it open and running a quick eye over the contents. “This is one of your seals,” he said with a furrowed brow.

“Not quite, it’s been modified,” Minato said. Down the hall he heard another door closing beyond the closet and hurried out of the room. “Look it over carefully and tell me what you think.”

* * *

In the end, they settled for a room next to Minato’s. It was covered in just as much dust as the others, but had a full set of furniture and a large window that Naruto loved. Despite his claim that he disliked cleaning, Naruto seemed excited enough about the prospect of his own room in the shared house to attack the dust contaminating it. They would have to get Naruto some more clothes and other essentials, but Minato was satisfied enough with the day’s progress to leave that off for another time. He left the boy with a bucket of water and some rags, promising to check on him in an hour or so after talking with Jiraiya.

The older man was sitting on the bed in the room he’d claimed his own, looking over the seal. His face was creased in concentration and his bag, still packed, had been shifted to the floor. Minato slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. He crossed to a chair pushed up against the desk next to the window and, turning it to face his sensei, sat down to wait.

Several minutes passed in silence before Jiraiya opened his mouth to speak. “This is one of your seals,” he said without looking up, “I remember when you were working on it. I doubt I’ve caught all the modifications you mentioned, but I’ve noticed a few. When did you make those?”

“I didn’t,” Minato replied, leaning back and crossing his arms and legs, “I found that seal on Naruto’s stomach.”

That brought Jiraiya’s head up, his wide eyes meeting Minato’s. “This was on Naruto’s stomach?” he repeated in amazement.

Minato didn’t wait for any other prompt. “When I found him he was wounded, nothing life threatening, but enough to put him in shock and suffering from blood loss. I brought him to the hospital and the nurse there said he was healing at an accelerated rate. I discovered the seal while removing his ruined clothing.”

“Accelerated healing, you say?” Jiraiya looked back down at the seal, fingers tracing over parts of it. “Well that explains some of the additions. These additions are for the recycling chakra. I’m guessing the other you in Naruto’s world made those additions and considering the original purpose of the seal…” He looked up to Minato again for confirmation.

Minato leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and looked down at his hands. For the first time he voiced his fears. “I think Naruto is a Jinchuuriki…and…I think I turned him into one.” Silence greeted the statement. It stretched out until Minato couldn’t stand it. He looked up.

Jiraiya was looking at him, posture mirroring his own. “You didn’t do that to him.”

“A version of me did.”

“That wasn’t you. That was someone else, someone facing different circumstances and making different decisions,” Jiraiya’s voice was firm and his gaze steady.

Minato wasn’t sure he believed his teacher, part of him still twisted with guilt at the thought of doing such a thing to his son. Kushina had never talked much about being the Kyuubi’s Jinchuuriki, but he still saw the pain it put her through during her life. He would never want that type of life for his son.

“It still doesn’t explain what happened to him when we went to see the crystal glass earlier,” Jiraiya’s voice drew Minato out of his thoughts before he could sink much farther, the tone thoughtful.

“No, it doesn’t,” the younger man agreed, leaning back and forcing his mind away from his darker thoughts. “I’ve never seen a reaction like that, can’t think of what might have triggered it…could have been one of a dozen different things.”

“Naruto’s the first that I’ve ever heard of to travel between possible worlds,” Jiraiya agreed. He rolled up the scroll containing Naruto’s seal and slipped it into his bag. “It could be a side effect of traveling between the two. I don’t even know how to begin predicting what that would do to a human body, much less a person’s mind. Perhaps we should consult Tsunade.”

Minato nodded, eyes roving over the bare wood floor, stopping briefly on Jiraiya’s sandals by the wall. The boards needed sweeping and mopping. The whole house had been neglected for far too long. He had a feeling a large part of his life had been neglected, as well, he just hadn’t noticed it until now, like the dust in the unopened rooms. Minato snorted at himself, he needed more sleep. He dragged his wandering thoughts back to the issue at hand. “Then there’s the period immediately before he came through that he doesn’t remember. Anything could have happened in that time.”

Jiraya nodded, grunting in agreement. “If we could talk to the Sandaime that would undoubtedly clear things up.”

“But if the enemy has gained control of their Tower and has access to the crystal…” Minato heaved a sigh, it was only going on noon and he already felt exhausted.

“We won’t know unless we try. There will always be some risk,” the older man said. Jiraiya stood up, picking his pack up and setting it back on the bed. “You’re tired, and we won’t be able to find out much more for now. Let’s take a few hours at least to let things soak in a bit. I’m going to be staying for longer than planned, so you better have some sake down stairs or you’re going to have a grumpy house guest.” He tipped the bag upside down and poured the contents out onto the bedspread.

Minato pushed himself up, nodding in agreement. “I wonder if there’s any food in the kitchen…” he said out loud as he headed out the door. He’d check on Naruto then move on to the kitchen to look at their food supplies. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone grocery shopping, which was enough to tell him that he’d probably be stopping by the market later that day. Takeout wasn’t going to be good enough for a growing boy.

* * *

“Hokage-sama, I have the report.” The ANBU appeared, crouched low before Sarutobi and the table strewn with maps and papers.

“Proceed,” the old Hokage said, never looking away from the intricate street map of Konoha’s eastern quarter.

“Hai,” the ANBU said with a bow of the head, “The enemy has taken approximately sixty percent of the village. Most of the residential districts are over run, as well as the front gate and the Hokage Tower. We have sustained heavy losses, but so have the invading forces. Most of our high ranking shinobi are still alive and the majority is able to fight. There is no report yet on the high raking enemy shinobi. We have captured several Iwa-nin that are currently being interrogated, when we have extracted information from them we will bring it to you immediately.”

“Very well,” Sarutobi said, glancing down to the man kneeling before him. The ANBU’s uniform was dirty and torn, stained with blood and dirt. Who knew how long the shinobi had been awake and fighting. “Take a few hours to rest, get some food and sleep.”

“I can still fight, Hokage-sama,” the ANBU protested, stiffening at the order.

Sarutobi shook his head with the wisdom of a man who had seen too many wars. “You won’t be any good if you collapse from exhaustion. You will fulfill your duty far better if you take the chance to rest while you can. Otherwise you become a danger to your comrades.”

The shoulders sagged ever so slightly and the ANBU replied, “Hai, Hokage-sama. There is one more observation from the front lines. The Iwa forces are forming their main line of defense through the village. However, the Amegakure forces seem to be concentrating on and around the Hokage Tower.”

The announcement made Sarutobi pause and his frown deepen. “Very well, get your rest and then prepare yourself. At night fall we will begin our counter offensive.”

The ANBU bowed low again and disappeared from the room. Sarutobi turned back to his maps, but he didn’t see them. His mind was on the report he’d just received. While it was reassuring knowing his most effective shinobi were still able to carry on, it also grieved him to hear that so many of their youngest had fallen, men and women who hadn’t even had a chance to live their life yet. It reminded him of the Shinobi Wars, a time he never wished to revisit in the remaining years of his life.

The most disturbing news, however, was the distribution of the enemy. He had a feeling Iwa, while providing the bulk of the troops for the attack, was not the true antagonist. Amegakure, in his personal opinion, was the more dangerous of the two and probably the instigator.

And now they were in control of the Hokage Tower.

Sarutobi’s thoughts immediately turned to the crystal mirror he’d used to talk with Minato sitting in the depths of the Tower. He could think of no possible way the enemy could be aware of its existence. The likelihood of them stumbling over it was even less, but aware or not, accidental discovery or not, the danger was still present. Sarutobi’s mind raced to his personal notes and research, containing the seal that he had used to send Naruto through to safety. He had ordered its destruction along with the other sensitive information they could not allow to fall into enemy hands, but he hadn’t been able to oversee it personally.

Shaking his head, Sarutobi refocused on the maps in front of him. Shikaku, head strategist, ran through possible plans and their probability of success. He couldn’t change whether or his notes had been completely destroyed. The best thing they could do now was retake the Tower and push the enemy out of their strong holds. Anything else would have to come at its own time.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it!  
> For those of you in the States, Happy Memorial Day!


	7. Memories

**Chapter 7: Memories**

Kakashi landed on the front steps of the Hokage Tower tired, dirty, hungry, and glad to be home more than anything. His shower called to him as well as his bed, but both would have to wait ‘till he reported to the Hokage. Just a quick check-in with Minato-sensei to let the man know that he was still alive. Then, he would be able to douse himself with hot water and sleep for at least several days before someone started asking about his mission report.

Keeping that thought in mind, Kakashi trudged through the doors, making his way up the steps toward the Hokage’s office. He barely registered the harried activity around him as he moved through the hall, intent only on seeing his sensei and leaving immediately afterward. His path was blocked, however, when he ran head long into a chūnin coming out of Minato’s office. They bumped into each other, papers spilling from the desk ninja’s hands across the floor.

“Oh, excuse me, ANBU-san,” the chūnin said distractedly bending down to pick up the papers, a brief flash of dismay crossing his face.

“Ma, don’t worry about it,” Kakashi replied. He really should help pick those up, but bending down that far seemed like too much of an effort. He moved to go around and through the door but the chūnin stopped him before he could grasp the handle.

“If you’re looking for Hokage-sama, he isn’t here.” If anything the chūnin only looked more dismayed at the pronouncement, shuffling the papers in his hands.

“Isn’t here?” Kakashi asked, vaguely aware that he sounded slower than the average ANBU was supposed to be, but if the other shinobi couldn’t tell by smell alone that he had just returned from a mission then there was no hope for the chūnin. Still, Minato-sensei was always in the office. “What do you mean he isn’t here?”

“He isn’t here,” the chūnin replied sounding increasingly frantic, “He’s taken a day off! Yesterday he was only in for a few hours and then today he came by to say he was taking a personal day. These papers need to get signed.” He shook the pile with both hands, emphasizing the point.

Kakashi was less concerned with signing papers than he was with the fact that Minato suddenly seemed to be taking time for himself. Minato-sensei never took a day off, not one in the past eight years. The last personal day the Hokage had taken had been for the birth of his son. It hadn’t turned out well.

The chūnin was still babbling about forms and papers needing signatures and approval, canceled meetings, and obtaining consent for matters that couldn’t be decided without the Hokage. None of this mattered to Kakashi, all he cared about was checking in, proving he was still alive and well to his sensei, making sure that his _sensei_ was alive and well, then collapsing into bed.

That thought in his mind, and feeling a little more awake at the turn of events, Kakashi turned from the babbling chūnin and headed back down the hall for the nearest window. He was stopped again when the chūnin ran ahead of him and held out the papers.

“If you’re going to check in with him, ANBU-san, could you please take these to Hokage-sama? They really do need to be signed today.”

Kakashi took the papers, more to get the chūnin out of the way than anything. He was too tired to deal with desk shinobi and the path of least resistance looked the best at the moment. Kakashi brushed away the chūnin’s quick bow of thanks with a tired wave of his hand, then, the chūnin disappeared in the other direction. Kakashi rolled up the forms and pushed open the first window he came to, leaping across to the closest building.

It took more time than usual to reach the house. Kakashi was tired and even with the spike of energy he’d gotten from hearing about Minato’s unusual behavior, his body was drained. When he reached the house he didn’t even make the effort of moving to the front door. Instead, he headed straight for the nearest window, landing tiredly on the ledge and sliding open the pane.

Kakashi froze at the vision of a miniature Minato sitting on the floor of the sitting room, crayons and papers strewn around him. For a moment, his mind went blank at the identical, if smaller, blond head. He reached up to rub his eye but stopped when he remembered he was still wearing his ANBU mask. He really should have taken an hour or two on the way back to the village to catch a nap instead of pushing through. He was having hallucinations.

Then, the blond head came up to reveal an equally identical set of blue eyes that landed on Kakashi’s position, perched in the window. “AH!” the boy yelled, throwing an accusatory finger at Kakashi, “It’s you!”

“Me?” the ANBU repeated confused, trying to dredge up any reason that a miniature copy of his sensei would know him or even how such a boy could exist.

“Is everything alright? I thought I heard a yell.” Minato appeared from around the corner dressed in his blue shinobi uniform, though without his Hokage coat or Jounin vest. He stopped when he spotted Kakashi, crouched on the window sill, half in the room. “Oh you’re back, good.”

“Hokage-sama,” Kakashi greeted, sliding into the room with a small bow. He glanced at the boy still sitting on the floor, then back at Minato, amazed at the likeness between the two.

“You look exhausted,” Minato said, gaze running up and down Kakashi’s weary form. He paused in a moment of consideration before continuing with a casual wave. “And you need a bath. I can get your report later, go home, bathe, sleep, and eat. You have the next two weeks to rest from your last assignment. Oh, and if you see Kakashi, tell him I want to see him tomorrow morning…and not sooner.”

The last was said in the firm tone that told Kakashi his sensei was serious. The ANBU glanced down at the boy looking up at him from the floor with wide curious eyes, Minato’s eyes. He was missing something. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel it should have been obvious. He should be able to figure it out with a little bit of thought, but his brain was slow and his mind sluggish. He’d been out on a mission for too long and he had pushed himself to return too quickly. He wouldn’t be figuring out any mysteries, even obvious ones, until he’d had some rest.

Kakashi heaved a sigh, wanting to know but wanting his own bed at the same time. “Hai, Hokage-sama. They wanted you to sign these forms,” he said belatedly remembering the papers and placing them on the window sill. He turned to the window. Minato didn’t seem to be in trouble at the moment, the man looked fine, healthy, and even a little happier than Kakashi remembered seeing him in recent years. Reassured that nothing was amiss and desperately needing rest, Kakashi slipped out the window and took the shortest path home.

* * *

“Who was that?” Naruto asked, looking up at Minato.

“That,” Minato said, moving to sit down on the couch near Naruto, “was Dog, he’s one of my most trusted ANBU. What were you yelling about earlier?”

Naruto shuffled around so that he faced Minato, though he remained seated on the floor. The books had been picked up and replaced on the shelves. Minato and Jiraiya made sure to place any books with questionable or dangerous content on the highest shelves where the eight year old wouldn’t be able to reach them. Minato was planning on moving the books in question to his office once that space was cleaned, organized, and had room, but at the moment the office was still a disaster. Now the only thing out of place in the sitting room were the sheets of paper and crayons fanned out around Naruto, depicting his many master pieces of art. Glancing at some of the closest drawings, Minato recognized Kushina’s artistic skill, or lack-there-of. If he wanted Naruto to become a seal master then he was going to have to put in a little extra work.

“I think I’ve seen that mask before,” Naruto said, looking closely at the tip of a blunt crayon before putting it back on the floor and turning his full attention to Minato.

“You have?” Minato asked. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. He tried to think of the implications of that fact. “When?”

“That was the mask the guy who brought me to the Hokage was wearing. I might have seen him before that, but those masked guys never stay around long.” Naruto shrugged, fiddling with another crayon, peeling the paper wrapping off more than was needed.

It wasn’t a certainty, Minato knew, but it was a chance that the Kakashi in Naruto’s world was also Dog. It could mean that his student was looking after his son in that other place, which was a comforting thought. However, Minato would have preferred that Kakashi adopt Naruto, if the child was ever orphaned. Thinking of his own Kakashi and all the hurt the man carried as well as his stigma about families, Minato wouldn’t be surprised that the silver haired ninja would be reluctant to make such a commitment.

Minato hesitated before silently bracing himself for his next question. He wasn’t sure he wanted to ask or know, but curiosity won. “Who takes care of you there?” He was relieved at the casual tone he managed.

“Oh,” Naruto shifted, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head. “The Old Man comes and checks in on me sometimes...but I have my own place. I don’t need anyone to look after me!” Naruto looked up with a wide grin across his face.

It took effort to return the smile. Naruto’s wide grin didn’t fool him, he could see the brittleness behind it. He knew about the months spent perfecting it till it hid the loneliness from everyone, but Minato saw through it easily. He had worn the same expression more than once to convince his sensei and students that he was fine after Kushina’s death. It hadn’t worked on them at the time, either. His son shouldn’t have known how to make that expression. “No one else?” he asked, half to himself.

“Well, Iruka-sensei takes me out to ramen sometimes. He gets me Ichiraku’s ramen, it’s the best in the whole world!” Naruto declared with enthusiasm. “Though, he also yells at me when I get in trouble and not just in school, either!”

Minato’s expression eased in a genuine grin. _Iruka, huh?_ Minato remembered seeing the man around the village, but had never gotten to know him very well. “That’s because he cares about you,” Minato said, reviewing what little he knew about the academy instructor. The younger man was something of a mother hen from what Minato had seen and heard. He made a mental note to pay more attention to the man in the future before turning back to the conversation, forcing himself to continue. “What happened to your parents, do you know?”

This time Naruto didn’t answer right away, squirming where he sat as he looked down to the rainbow of crayons scattered around him. He shrugged, a failed attempt at being casual. “I don’t know. No one ever told me.” His tone didn’t invite further probing.

 Wincing, Minato hesitated to continue. Naruto was hunching in on himself, a curl to his shoulders as he seemed to closely inspect his array of crayons. Minato chose his words carefully. “You remember the conversation we had yesterday morning, right, Naruto-kun?”

The younger blond looked up to Minato, confusion in his eyes. “Um…”

“About how things are different here from your own Konoha,” Minato said, hoping to remind Naruto. He spoke slowly, trying to find the right words. “People who are gone here, like the Sandaime, are there in your Konoha…and people who are… gone in your Konoha might… still be here…”

Naruto frowned at him, still not understanding what Minato was trying to say. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Minato ran a hand down his face as he struggled with what he wanted to say, how best to communicate his thoughts. Just breaking the news to the child seemed too harsh. Biting back a groan of frustration, he tried a different angle. “You know, I was an orphan growing up, too?”

“You?” Naruto asked, voice rising in surprise. He sat a little straighter and dropped the crayon he’d been fiddling with to turn his entire attention to the older man.

Minato nodded, encouraged by the new interest Naruto directed toward him and the focus in the boy’s gaze. “So I understand what it’s been like for you…a little,” he suppressed a grimace, thinking of the additional complications being a jinchūriki would bring. The stumble had made him loose steam but he plowed on anyway. “I know it’s probably difficult believing there’s someone out there that will…be there for you…but like I said this is a new world for you, right? There are different circumstances here, so…even though you didn’t have anyone there doesn’t mean it’s the same here.”

Minato shook his head as Naruto’s confusion came back in full, though there was the spark of an idea behind his eyes. The boy crossed his arms over his chest, face scrunching in concentration. “So…you mean I might find someone to look after me here?” There was still doubt and disbelief in his voice.

_No, I mean you already have someone here!_ Minato shifted in his seat and ran his hand over his face again in a bout of frustration. The subtle approach obviously wasn’t working. Naruto clearly needed things stated plainly, like Kushina had. “What I’m trying to say is-“

“Man, am I hungry!” Jiraiya burst into the room, interrupting Minato and drowning out what he was about to say. “When are we going to get lunch, anyway? I know this great ramen stand in town.”

Both blonds turned to him in surprise, one face lighting up at the mention of lunch, the other shooting a narrowed glare at the interruption. Naruto leapt to his feet, punching the air in excitement.

“Yeah! Ramen!” the boy cried, all thoughts of the previous conversation gone.

“Oh?” Jiraiya exclaimed in over-exaggerated enthusiasm to match Naruto’s, “You like ramen, then?”

“It’s the best!” Naruto agreed with a fervent nod and a wide smile. “And Ichiraku’s ramen is the best of all! Can we go there?” He ran up to the white haired man, scattering a few drawings and crayons further across the floor, hands clenched and body tense in anticipation.

Jiraiya grinned and ruffled Naruto’s head. “Isn’t it lucky, that’s exactly where I was planning on going? I’d say stay here for lunch, but I still don’t trust Minato-kun’s cooking skills. He’s so out of practice.”

Naruto let out another whoop of joy, dancing on the spot before running to the door. “I’ll get my sandals!”

Jiraiya turned to watch Naruto leave. Minato, however kept his eyes on his sensei throughout the whole exchange. The hokage’s expression wasn’t much more forgiving than when the Sannin had first interrupted and he hadn’t moved from his seat on the couch. Now, with Naruto gone, Minato slowly stood up from his perch. “You have terrible timing, you know that, Sensei?”

Jiraiya shrugged, unaffected by Minato’s dark look. “I’ve been told that before, though in this case I think I’m right on time.”

“I was about to explain to him,” Minato bit out, turning to the papers littering the area and bending to pick them up with quick movements.

Jiaraiya sighed and moved to help Minato. “Exactly my point. It’s too soon to be telling him those things. There’s still too much we don’t know.”

“Don’t know?” Minato looked up from his cleaning and watched his sensei shuffling some of the bright crayon drawings. When he spoke again his voice was muted to a lower level. “He’s my son and he’s been alone his entire life. That’s all I need to know!” In his grip, Minato could feel a few of the crayons snap from pressure.

Jiraiya scooped up the last few pictures, taking his time before answering. “I know, and that’s why we need to be cautious in how we do things, what we tell him. He’s had it hard enough without giving him false hope…Look,” Jiraiya’s shoulder’s dropped, his voice low and serious. He turned to face Minato square on and hands at his side. “You’re my student and for all practical purposes he’s my godson. I don’t want either of you hurt if I can prevent it. We still don’t know all the facts of what happened over there. We don’t know if Naruto will even be able to _stay_ here! There’s no way to tell if the Sandaime’s technique used to send him here is permanent or if it has side effects that could be harmful. What will it do to him to gain a father here if he has to lose him all over again?”

Minato didn’t respond. There was nothing to say to that. He stood silent, shoulders slumped and gaze turned down to the floor at the notion that he wouldn’t be able to keep Naruto. The idea hadn’t occurred to him and now that it was pointed out he couldn’t stop the cold hand that gripped his heart at the thought.

“Hell,” Jiraiya continued, voice more thoughtful as though he were speaking mainly to himself. “They might even just demand that we return him. Naruto is that other Konoha’s Jinchuuriki, after all, and they won’t want to let him go so easily.”

“They’d have a fight on their hands,” Minato responded without thinking. He tensed after uttering the words, immediately feeling Jiraiya’s disapproving eyes on his back. Another crayon snapped in his grasp.

A moment of silence stretched out while neither man moved. Then, Jiraiya turned his attention to the drawings in his hands, leafing through them absently. “I’m just saying we need to know more of the situation before we do anything rash. You’re already stuck in this position. Let’s spare the brat the same stress until we know for sure, alright?”

Minato finally looked up from the floor. “I suppose you’re right. I also suppose this leaves us little choice except to attempt contact with the Sandaime.” He looked at Jiraiya, noticing that the man was froze in place, staring at a picture with muted shock. “What’s wrong?”

Jiraiya wordlessly turned the drawing around to face Minato. At first, the hokage didn’t know what upset the older man. The picture looked like a slightly lopsided picture of a very gnarled tree that spread across the entire page. He opened his mouth to ask what the matter was when his eyes caught what his sensei had seen. The leaves spread across the top half of the page weren’t leaves at all, but a section of a seal, a very complicated and extensive seal.

Minato took the paper, eyes raking over the green crayon marks before he turned to the pictures he held in his own hand. He shuffled through them, scanning the images with careful eyes while Jiraiya did the same with the papers he’d already perused. In several pictures, Minato found clear sections of a seal and more areas in other pictures that could have been part of a seal but were too clumsy due to the crayon to tell.

“What is this?” Minato asked, not expecting an answer but needing to voice the question anyway. He finally cycled back to the first page, the one with the tree and the largest example of the seal he’d seen. He couldn’t tell much from the small section, but he could tell that the examples drawn out for them were only parts of a much larger seal, one he’d never seen before and that Naruto should not have any ability to draw in the first place.

“I don’t know,” Jiraiya said, pulling out specific drawings that Minato guessed had other examples of partially drawn seal diagrams, “But the sooner we talk to Sensei, the better.”

“Oy!” Naruto called, startling both men from their thoughts, “Are we going or not? I’m starving!”

“We’re coming,” Minato said as Jiraiya grabbed the papers from his hands. He looked at the older man as Jiraiya stowed the drawings securely inside his shirt.

Jiraiya gave Minato one last serious look before he brightening his expression as he turned to Naruto and moved to the door. “You need to learn patience, brat. A shinobi needs to have patience if they’re going to excel.”

“Patience?” Naruto repeated, face screwing up at the idea, “but I’m hungry now.”

“Maybe we should wait a little longer, just so you can learn the lesson,” Jiraiya laughed as Naruto’s face dropped in horror.

Minato followed them into the entrance hall, trying to focus on the light banter between his sensei and his son. The discovery and implications of the seals buried in Naruto’s pictures whirled through his thoughts, along with the possibility that Naruto wouldn’t be able to stay. It was too much to think of right then. He needed to wait until he had a moment of quiet to sort it all out and then talk about it in depth with Jiraiya. One final mental push and he shoved the worrying thought to the side and instead concentrated on enjoying lunch with his son.

* * *

“Stop _moving,_ you brat!”

Naruto stilled his squirming, though he narrowed his eyes at his tormentor, a defiant pout on his face. “I don’t see why I have to get another exam. I was at the hospital yesterday!”

Brown eyes stared back at Naruto as both medic and patient glared at each other, neither one wanting to look away first. _Sure_ , Naruto thought as the medic forcibly repositioned him on the desk as he tried to squirm off again, _the medic-lady was a pretty blonde, but she had a bad temper and her bedside manner left something to be desired_. Minato and Jiraiya said that her name was Tsunade. At first, Naruto thought she was young, but then he’d found out she’d been Jiraiya’s teammate. That made her old, way older than she looked.

Naruto failed to notice that Tsunade’s bedside manner had disappeared as he made a verbal comment on that observation.

“Just bare with us for a little longer, Naruto-kun,” the other medic, a lady named Rin, said. She was a brunette with two thick purple marks on either side of her face from jaw to cheek and was much nicer than Old-Lady-Tsunade. “We just want to make sure you’re completely healed.”

Naruto huffed but stilled to let the two women finish checking over him with glowing hands. His eyes flicked to the side of the sitting room, relieved to see Minato still there leaning against the side of the couch, arms crossed over his chest. The Hokage watched the proceedings with bright eyes and a twitching mouth. It looked like he was fighting a smile.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto braced himself to wait for the unending exam to be over. For a quick check-up it was taking an awfully long time. He’d never had a medic look over him for so long or so thoroughly, much less two at once. They spent a lot of time on his stomach which tickled and made him squirm again, earning another growl from Tsunade.

The silence settled in the room. Naruto let his mind wander, bored with everything and wanting nothing more than to jump off the desk they’d pulled out from the wall for him to sit on during the exam. Minato hadn’t wanted to go back to the hospital for it. He hadn’t said why exactly, but Naruto wasn’t going to complain. Naruto’s thoughts turned back to the thing that was still in the back of his head, drawn like metal to a magnet. It seemed like whenever he wasn’t distracted by something, whenever had had a moment for just his own thoughts they inevitably focused on the half-thought that he still couldn’t remember. It had something to do with the Old Man, of that Naruto was relatively sure since whenever he thought about the Sandaime the sensation got stronger.

“Hmm…” Tsunade hummed, drawing Naruto from his circling thoughts. Her hands were now on his head. Through the soft green glow that circled her hands and by extension Naruto’s head he could see her face scrunched in concentration. It only lasted a moment more before the woman dropped her hands and turned back to her bag. Now only Rin’s hands pressed into his back but they were removed a moment later as well. The brunette turned to some paper laid out on the table and began writing notes across the white sheets.

“Arm,” Tsunade said, gesturing with one hand. The other held a syringe and needle.

Naruto grimaced at the sight, not wanting to get stuck with a needle, but his eyes flickered over to Minato again and he straightened his back and stuck out his arm. He didn’t let himself wince when the needle poked into his skin, surprisingly gentle considering it was Tsunade sticking him. He was determined to be brave in front of his hero.

After all, Naruto didn’t want Minato to think that he was afraid of something stupid like a needle. Things were going so well and Minato seemed like he really liked Naruto. From the moment they’d gotten up and Minato had burnt breakfast, forcing them to have just toast, to the lunch out with Jiraiya at Ichiraku’s, Naruto couldn’t think of a better morning in his life. He didn’t want to mess everything up by giving Minato a reason not to like him. So he held his breath and quashed the queasy feeling in his stomach as he watched Tsunade draw blood from his arm and fill the syringe.

“You’re doing very well,” Rin smiled at him again and Naruto grinned back, glad for the distraction as the needle was pulled from his arm.

Tsunade capped the needle and slipped it into her small medical bag. “Well, that’s it,” she said turning to Minato, “I wonder why you had both myself and Rin-san over here, Minato-kun. The kid’s fine, for the most part. The wound is all healed, surprisingly fast, actually. Though, it might still be sore for a little longer. He’s underweight, too, but I’m sure you’ll remedy that if you don’t kill him first.”

Minato rolled his eyes as Jiraiya entered the room. “What, done already?” the new arrival asked looking between Tsunade, Rin, and Minato.

“What do you mean already?” Naruto asked, jumping off the table. “That took forever!”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Rin chuckled, ruffling Naruto’s hair before she gathered up the notes from the desk. She turned to Minato. “Sensei, perhaps we can find something for Naruto to do while we talk things over in more detail.”

“What? Why can’t I be in the talk?” Naruto asked, feeling a little left out at the thought of everyone leaving to talk about him.

“You wouldn’t be interested anyway. It’s going to be boring medical talk that will probably just go over your head. Besides, it’s only going to boil down to you eating more vegetables,” Jiraiya said walking over to Naruto and poking him in the head. He pulled the notes out of Rin’s hands and took out the blank sheets before turning Naruto around to face the desk again. He slapped the blank sheets of paper on the desk along with a pencil. “Why don’t you draw me some pictures while the adults go in the other room and talk about boring adult things?”

Naruto glared at the older man as Jiraiya turned and left the room followed by Tsunade. Rin smiled as she walked out of the door, trailing after the other two.

“Don’t worry, Naruto-kun,” Minato said, coming over and ruffling Naruto’s hair. “We shouldn’t be too long.”

“Fine,” Naruto huffed before smiling. “Afterwards can you teach some cool ninja stuff? Then I’ll be better than anyone when I go back to the academy!”

Minato’s grin only spread wider. “I’d love to teach you something after we’re done, but be patient till then…Your earlier drawings were very nice, I’d love to see more.”

“Alright!” Naruto agreed. He wasn’t particularly interested in drawing more since he’d done that before lunch, but if Minato wanted to see more of his pictures then he’d be happy to draw more. Pulling the chair out and settling in, Naruto heard the door click shut as he drew the paper and pencil toward him. He’d have to draw some really good pictures, no one had ever wanted to see his pictures before so he had to make these count. Tongue between his teeth, Naruto set to work.

* * *

The frown was set on Sarutobi’s face. It felt like it was engraved there, permanent and unchanging except to increase in severity. Despite the good news concerning their efforts against the Iwa shinobi, his eyes were fixed on the point on the map that depicted the Hokage Tower. It was still out of reach, still in control of the Amegakure shinobi.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say they knew what we were planning, the Amegakure forces, that is,” Kakashi said his slumped posture looking too authentic for those who knew him well to tell the difference. Sarutobi knew him well and could see the exhaustion in Kakashi’s stance. “The Iwa nin had no idea what hit them which means either Iwa wasn’t as prepared as Amegakure, which I find hard to believe, or the two forces are not sharing all their information with each other.”

Sarutobi nodded, grunting his agreement. “Let us hope it is the latter. That would mean they are divided and a divided force is almost always easier to deal with... We may very well have a spy in our midst.”

Kakashi only nodded, the eye visible through his mask tired and muted. “Is…Naruto safe? Somewhere where they won’t get to him?”

“He is as safe as I can make him,” Sarutobi replied, indicating the topic should be dropped.

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said quietly, head bowed. “What do you intend to do if we do have a spy?”

Sarutobi looked up from the map and stared at Kakashi for several moments. “Do you think we do?”

The Copy-nin took a moment to reply, face covered by two separate masks. “Yes.”

Heaving a sigh, the old Hokage slumped just a bit in his seat. “We must regain the Hokage Tower. We have the Iwa forces on the run and have taken back the main gate, but the Tower is too valuable to leave in Amegakure’s hands for long…but first we need to rid ourselves of this spy, any effort will be undermined because of him. Find the spy, by whatever means necessary.”

Kakashi nodded, bowing to the Hokage before turning from the room. The reprieve from the battlefield was more than welcome since he was running dangerously low on chakra, but this new assignment exposed him to an entirely different set of problems. Heading back to the emergency shelter, Kakashi set his mind on how to devise a trap for a spy.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! Thanks for reading!


	8. Dark Puzzles

**Chapter 8: Dark Puzzles**

“Well, what did you find?” Minato asked as he closed the door for the spare office on the first floor. The room hadn’t been used in years and sat covered with dust like many of the spare bedrooms on the second floor. Jiraiya was just able to throw up a quick privacy seal before Minato lost control of his curiosity.

“Geeze,” Tsunade grumbled to herself as she ran a hand over a dusty box. “You’d think we’d at least be able to talk in your regular office upstairs. It might be more comfortable.”

Minato shook his head but Jiraiya beat him to the answer.

“It’s still too messy. Our Illustrious Hokage has a difficult time keeping all of his books and scrolls put away,” Jiraiya’s dry tone made Minato roll his eyes.

“Sensei, you used to be much better at that sort of thing,” Rin admonished, “And now that Naruto-kun will be staying with you, you need to set a good example.”

Minato nodded his head in a quick, jerking motion. “I’m working on it. Now can we get back to what’s going on with Naruto?”

“Fine,” Tsunade huffed with a long-suffering sigh. “Though you still own me an explanation for how and why he’s here. You say he’s your son but don’t explain how that’s possible. The only reason I didn’t force you to take a temporary leave-of-absence is because Jiraiya here backs you up and you’ve already taken the day off from work.”

Minato opened his mouth to respond when a hollow tapping cut through his planned reply. As one, the group turned toward the window only to find a one-eyed, white-haired ninja crouching on the windowsill outside. Minato unlocked the window and slid it open for Kakashi to slip through, a disapproving frown on the Hokage’s lips.

“I thought I told you to come back tomorrow,” Minato said, closing and re-latching the window.

“I took a nap,” Kakashi defended himself. He moved over to Rin and settled himself next to her leaning against a large box. “Besides, who can sleep when there’s an as of yet unexplained miniature clone of their sensei running around his house. I’m assuming it has something to do with that mirror.”

“What mirror?” Tsunade asked, turning to Minato.

Minato sighed, knowing he wouldn’t get a further explanation of Naruto’s medical state until he explained. “Months ago, I attempted to recreate the Sandaime’s seeing crystal. In my experiments, I accidently created a window into another version of our own world, another possibility of how events could have happened. In that world, the Sandaime was still alive, though I, myself, was dead. We’ve been conversing for the past several months.”

“You’ve been talking to Sarutobi-sensei?” Tsunade asked in shock, “How do you know it wasn’t some kind of trick?”

“I was very careful in verifying his identity.”

“I sat in on one of the conversations, as well,” Kakashi spoke up, “The Sandaime didn’t know I was listening in but I believe he was who he claimed to be.”

Tsunade responded with a skeptical hum. Her arms were crossed and her expression was disbelieving but she didn’t say anything so Minato continued.

“Two nights ago, I went down to see if the Sandaime was available for a talk. When I arrived at the room holding the mirror, I found Naruto on the floor, unconscious and wounded. The mirror wasn’t activated, but there is no other way he could have gotten into the room. Questioning him later verified that he is from the other Konoha.” Minato hesitated, thinking about the Kyūbi sealed in his son. Perhaps it was shame, but he didn’t want to tell anyone what his other self had done. However, he seriously doubted he would be able to keep it a secret. Jiraiya already knew, after all. He didn’t need to say anything at the moment, though, as Kakashi was already speaking.

“Well, that explains why he looks exactly like you. Never mentioned you had a son in that other place.”

“I didn’t know I had a son there, not until he appeared here,” Minato replied.

“Why wouldn’t Sensei tell you about him?” Tsunade asked, her eyes narrowed and a frown pulling at her mouth.

 “…As I said, I’m dead in that world. Naruto is an orphan. You must have noticed how he doesn’t even recognize me.” Keeping the pained sting out of his words was harder than Minato imagined but he managed. “Now do you have the results of the exam?”

Tsunade didn’t answer right away. She stared at him as he looked at her, the rest of the room watching them both in silence. “Yes,” she finally said, not moving from her spot against the boxes. “There’s an unusual chakra signature, not his, emanating from his stomach. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say something has been sealed into the boy…” Tsunade turned a sidelong glance to Minato that made the younger man sigh. So much for keeping the Kyūbi secret.

“He has the Kyūbi-no-Yoko sealed inside of him,” Minato admitted after a moment. He had no doubt the people in the room would treat Naruto the same, but he did not want the information to spread. The villagers would not be so kind.

Silence filled the room. The question about who had sealed the Kyūbi hung in the air, but thankfully no one asked and Minato stubbornly refused to say without being specifically asked.

“So that played out differently in the other world as well,” Kakashi said, half to himself, his one visible eye furrowed above his black face mask.

“That would explain the foreign chakra,” Rin said as she nodded, then turned as Tsunade spoke.

“It explains the first but not the second.”

“Second?” Minato asked, alarmed at the thought of three different chakra signatures in one person, especially his son. Coping with one foreign chakra for a long period of time was stressful enough on the body, but two? He didn’t know how that would affect someone and Naruto was so young… Tsunade’s next statement did nothing to ease Minato’s worry.

“The other chakra is in his head. It was extremely subdued, almost nonexistent. I would have over looked it except it flared briefly just as I was scanning his head.” Tsunade delivered the information in a clinical and level tone.

“Did it seem harmful?” Jiraiya asked, frown on his face.

“The chakra itself isn’t malicious in nature, not like the Kyūbi’s, but the Demon Fox is sealed away. It’s contained and mostly separated from Naruto’s own chakra. This other chakra, however, is not. From what I can tell, it’s acting directly on him, though I can’t say how or to what effect exactly.”

Minato didn’t like the sound of that at all. He fought back his initial knee-jerk response to go back to his son, if only to make sure Naruto was alright, and forced himself to think. “It’s in his head and dormant most of the time?” he asked to verify those facts, mind whirling at the possible reasons for the other chakra.

Tsunade nodded.

“Perhaps some form of genjutsu?” Rin suggested, voicing Minato’s own first guess.

“It’s possible,” Tsunade agreed, but without commitment.

Minato frowned at the floor, his mind working furiously with the new information. It seemed all he received were new questions and never any definitive answers. First Naruto’s sudden appearance, then the Kyūbi, Naruto’s reaction to the mirror, the partial seals in his pictures, and now this second foreign chakra in his head, it was one new puzzle piece after another and few were connecting in any clear way. He had no doubt they were all related to each other but the question was how they were related. What was harmless and what was a potential threat? He had no way to tell for sure, not with the small amount of information they had.

“Sensei, do you still have those drawings?” Minato asked. They were laying everything out in regard to Naruto and it would be helpful to have as many opinions on the information as possible.

Jiraiya pulled out the now slightly crinkled drawings. He flipped through several, pulling out the best examples and placing them on top. Tsunade moved next to him and peered over at the top most picture, curious.

“Naruto drew these earlier,” Minato explained as the head medic reached out and took the first picture in the stack.

Jiaraiya handed out two other drawings to Kakashi and Rin. Silence reigned for a few moments as the three looked over the drawings and Minato wondered who would see it first. None of the others were seals masters up to his or Jiraiya’s ability, but they were accomplished and learned enough to tell the difference between seal markings and scribbles.

“Don’t tell me,” Kakashi said, his pronounced frown showing through the black material of his face mask. The expression was quickly morphing to surprise. “Those are parts of a seal.” He looked up to Minato for confirmation, though the Hokage could see his former student didn’t really need it.

Minato nodded as Tsunade’s and Rin’s face lit with the same recognition.

“A seal for what?” Rin asked, now peering at the drawing with greater intensity as her eyes ran over the out of place markers.

“There’s no way to tell without the complete seal,” Jiraiya said, taking back the drawings. “We’ll try to piece it together as much as possible, see what we can figure out from the sections we have, but there’s no way to tell for sure if these are even from the same seal.”

Minato nodded in agreement. “And any that we manage to string together will merely be speculation on our parts. The only way we’ll know we have the right seal is by trying it and unless we somehow find the hand seals for it, that won’t be possible.” He cleared his throat, thinking he might be sounding a little too pessimistic. “But we’ll try,” Minato finished to an amused snort for Jiraiya.

“Yes, we’ll try,” Jiraiya agree, tucking the pictures away and crossing his arms. He tilted his head and a light tone came into his voice. “And we’ll work it out, too, because I’m the best seal master around…and Minato-kun is alright.” He finished with a hand waggle and a shrug.

Minato purposely ignored the friendly jab, not wanting to encourage his sensei any farther. “Unfortunately, even if we do find the right seal that will hardly answer all of our questions.”

“Have you considered attempting to contact the Sandaime again?” Tsunade asked, equally ignoring Jiraiya.

Nodding, Minato held back a sigh as he agreed. “I think that’s the only way that we’ll really be able to find out what happened. Naruto certainly doesn’t know anything and what he does know he doesn’t understand enough to communicate reliably.”

“We could try tonight, after Naruto-kun is in bed,” Kakashi suggested. “You both always kept late hours anyway.”

Minato thought that over for a moment before he nodded. “I want you and Rin to stay and keep an eye on Naruto, though. Nobody should know he’s here, but just in case.”

Rin bobbed her head and Kakashi responded with “Hai, Hokage-sama.” His voice didn’t betray any disappointment at being left out from the meeting or enthusiasm for spending time with Naruto.

“How _are_ you going to explain his presence?” Tsunade asked, a skeptical look in her eye. “Do you plan on just sending him back to his own world when all is said and done? The other Konoha may not give up their Jinchuriki so easily, and they have means of coming into our world while have no idea how to even attempt crossing to theirs. That’s gives them a distinct advantage if a fight were to break out.”

Minato shifted where he stood, resisting the urge to run a hand over his face. Still, he couldn’t help the cooling of his tone and hardening of his face when he replied. “I think we have other problems to take care of before we approach that.”

“No need borrowing trouble,” Jiraiya agreed quietly.

* * *

Jiraiya frowned at the papers scattered around him. They covered his bed in the second floor room at the Hokage's mansion and spilled onto the floor. At a casual glance, the papers didn't look like anything more than a collection of children's scribbles strewn randomly over the bedspread, but the drawings were laid out in a careful order based on the partial seal found in Naruto's pictures. The newer drawings Naruto had finished while the adults were talking sat on the floor. There were no buried seals in them. Jiraiya guessed it was due to Naruto's concentration and focus while he drew them. In the earlier doodles, the boy hadn't been paying attention and that most likely allowed whatever was buried in his head to leach through to the casual drawings. In the new drawings, Naruto had clearly tried to make the nicest pictures he was able. Touching, but for the purpose they had set the boy to draw, ultimately useless. Perhaps Minato could tack them to a wall somewhere in the house.

Luckily, there was enough to work with in the other drawings for the moment. Based on those fragments, Jiraiya thought he recognized some of the work from his old sensei. Considering Naruto's likely close proximity and relationship with the Sandaime it certainly would make sense to find Sarutobi Sensei's seal in the boy's head. Still, it did nothing to explain why the seal was there in the first place. Undoubtedly, if he knew what the seal did he would know why it was buried in Naruto, or have a good guess at the very least.

A sudden bout of laughter sounded through the door followed by a rush of feet down the hall and stairs. Jiraiya looked up to the closed door and smiled, causing crow’s feet to appear at the corners of his eyes. It had been a long time since he'd heard laughter in this house and he was grateful for that if nothing else.

The smile faded though as his eyes slid down to the scroll opened across his lap. It was the seal Minato found on Naruto's stomach. It was very similar to a seal Minato worked on years ago, but as the Hokage said, there were several important modifications to it that were never made in their world. Originally, Minato had planned to go over the two versions of the seal in detail on his own, but with Naruto always around the new father was understandably distracted so he gave Jiraiya both variations of the seal to examine and compare in addition to the drawings. The original lay to the side spread out on its own scroll ready for quick reference when needed.

Downstairs, the front door opened and closed leaving the house suddenly quiet, breaking Jiraiya's tenuous concentration for a moment. They would have to come up with an explanation for Naruto or be prepared to tell the truth soon, otherwise the boy would have to be confined to the immediate area around the house for a longer time than was ideal. Trusting that Minato wouldn't let Naruto stray too far from the house, Jiraiya refocused on the seal, taking advantage of the quiet while he had it. He thought he had all of the modifications figured out, especially when compared to the original seal. The majority of them focused on recycling chakra through the host, most likely to allow Naruto to use the Fox's chakra if he needed it. The amount of bleed-off allowed seemed much greater than the few other Jinchuriki seals he'd seen in his life.

However, there was something that bothered him. It wasn't the seal itself. He couldn't find any theoretical problem with the construction of the seal. Sometimes seals had side effects that weren't and couldn't be predicted until they were used, especially if they were new and untested. Naruto's seal was further complicated by the Kyūbi's chakra. The Demon Fox's chakra was corrosive, for lack of a better word. Jiraiya was unsure what results would come from allowing the Kyūbi's chakra to filter out of the seal over an extended period of time. Would it make the seal weaken? It was difficult to say, but something about the entire set up made him uneasy.

Gazing out the window, Jiraiya frowned as he let his mind turn back to Kushina and how she had dealt with the Kyūbi all those years. He didn't often think about Kushina in depth. He preferred not to consider her tragic end and its impact on his pupil, but now his thoughts sifted through everything he could remember. Her seal had been different than Naruto's. It focused mainly on suppressing the Kyūbi as much as possible, to keep it locked away from the world and anyone who would manipulate it for their own purposes. Naruto's seemed designed with the intention that the boy would one day use the Kyūbi's power as freely as his own. Kushina's seal had also depended a great deal on her unique chakra. Jiraiya still didn't know much about Naruto's chakra, perhaps it also had a unique resistance to the Kyūbi's own. The Sannin had a hard time believing it didn't, considering the boy had lived with the Kyūbi his entire life and potentially inherited his mother’s ability. Still, Naruto was only eight and barely had any control of his own chakra. It would be difficult to verify the hypothesis.

Sighing in frustration Jiraiya turned back to the unknown seals spread out around him. He'd been going between the two for the past hour, constantly running into the same issues. There simply wasn't enough information. The mystery seal was incomplete and he didn't have the heart to interrupt Minato and Naruto's fun. Eventually, they'd have to take a closer look at Naruto's chakra with its reaction to the Kyūbi's. They also would have to check if there was another way to access the seal buried inside the boy's head and check on the other chakra Tsunade had detected but that could wait for the moment. Below on the first floor, Jiraiya could hear Naruto's happy voice rising and falling offsetting Minato's more muted replies. They sounded like they were in the kitchen, Jiraiya dearly hoped Minato wasn't attempting to cook anything or show Naruto how to cook.

Jiraiya cringed as he heard the loud clatter of pots topple to the floor. He could imagine Minato in the kitchen with Naruto right now with delusions of a home cooked dinner. If worse came to worse they could always order out for something. 

Determined to distract himself and find a solution to at least one of the mysteries before him, Jiraiya pulled out a new scroll. If he copied over the disparate sections of the unknown seal, perhaps he could find the most likely connections for them. There was still sometime before dinner, not including the time to order take out if Minato’s attempts at cooking downstairs went astray. Then, if he so chose, he’d have a few hours to work on it some more after dinner and before they put Naruto to bed and headed over to the Hokage Tower. Jiraiya reasoned he’d be able to work out some of the possible connections between the different sections during that time. It would all be conjecture, but it was better than nothing.

* * *

Naruto was having the nightmare again. It was different from the first night spent in the new world. That nightmare had been a memory, and while some distant part of his brain realized that this nightmare was only that, the fear that filled him was almost worse than the memory itself. The setting was still the same and the beginning of the attack remained unchanged, but this time the ANBU never came to save him. One moment, he was being chased by nameless enemy shinobi. Then he turned to find a mob of angry villagers after him. They chased him for somehow causing the attack that was still happening around them. Everywhere buildings burned and no matter where Naruto turned down the streets and alleyways he couldn’t escape.

The worst, however, wasn’t the villagers’ screams of terror or their cries of rage. It wasn’t the growing sounds of battle and chaos that gripped Konoha. It wasn’t even the mobs or the enemy shinobi that occasionally caught up to Naruto. The most terrifying part, the very worst part of his dream was the red mist. It followed him wherever he went, skirting the edge of the street when the villagers and shinobi were there, then closing in when he was alone. It licked against his arms and legs, burning and scorching against his skin. Naruto could feel the malice and anger that filled the red mist, as well as the power. It terrified him.

Running, Naruto fled more from the mist than people chasing him. He flailed against it when it crept in close and cornered him, but there was no way to fight it. It reached out toward him and brushed against his skin. As time passed it seemed to grow until he could feel it grabbing at his arms. He cried out in desperation, hoping the villagers would find him if only their presence would keep it at bay.

“Shh. It’s alright, I’m right here.”

The voice jolted Naruto awake, making him twist and jerk away from the restraints. It was a moment later when he realized the restraints weren’t the red mist closing in or the villagers holding him down. They were a pair of arms, gently but firmly wrapped around him. Naruto stopped his struggle if for no other reason than surprise and he caught the stream of words above him.

“You’re fine, you’re safe here. I won’t let anything happen to you.” It was Minato.

The Hokage had his arms wrapped around Naruto and had pulled him into a hug, supporting Naruto’s top half in his lap. The shock and lingering desperation from the dream kept Naruto from tensing at the close contact and instead he turned his face and shoulder’s into the man’s stomach. Minato’s arms tightened around Naruto’s shoulders and pulled him up farther into the man’s lap. Unable to make himself hug the man back, Naruto pulled his arms into his own chest but pressed himself against the reassuring presence beside him. Minato responded by squeezing Naruto tighter, rocking them both back and forth while he kept up his reassuring litany.

Naruto’s breath hitched but he refused to cry. Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and focused on pushing back the shaky feeling left from the dream. It sent tremors down his limbs and made his breath shudder as he tried to draw air past whatever was blocking his throat. The gentle rocking motion didn’t seem to help at first, either. Initially it just made him want to cry all the more, but eventually the slow steady motion eased the knot in Naruto’s chest. For a few moments, Naruto reveled in the security and comfort of the embrace, even as another part of him floundered at the unfamiliarity of it all.

Slowly the rocking stopped and Minato paused a moment before asking, "Better?"

Unwilling to look up, partially from embarrassment, Naruto just nodded into the Hokage's chest.

Neither one moved from their position as Minato waited another breath. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Naruto slowly shook his head, more from impulse than actual response to the question. He didn't want to talk about it in any case, didn't want to have to explain to Minato that the villagers had always hated him, that he'd always been alone. If Minato found out, who was to say he wouldn't change his mind about Naruto, too?

"Are you sure?" Minato asked, pulling back to look down, craning his neck to peer into Naruto's face. "...Talking about it helps."

Naruto thought about it again. He’d never tried talking about his nightmares to anyone before, unless you counted when he told Minato and Jiraiya about his dream-memory two days before, and he hadn't had any nightmares that following night. Normally, he'd be ecstatic to have someone to talk to about anything, but the awkwardness of the situation was seeping in now that the first few panicked moments of waking were past. He suddenly felt nervous even as drowsiness tugged at his eyes. If he had to guess, he'd say Minato was also feeling a little awkward from the way the man shifted in his seat as the quiet minutes slipped by and neither spoke.

With one more silent shake of his head, Naruto crawled out of Minato’s arms and back under the covers. The night was chilly and he burrowed down into the heavy blankets with relish. The bed here was nice and soft, even if it smelt a little like dust and made his nose twitch at first. It was much better then what he had at his old apartment with his used and sagging mattress and thin blankets. Minato pulled the blankets up a little higher until only Naruto’s face and mop of hair poked out. The gesture helped settle the last of Naruto’s nerves brought on by the nightmare and he relaxed back into bed, ready to fall back asleep.

“If you change your mind, I’ll be more than willing to listen,” Minato said, resting a hand on Naruto’s shoulder through the blankets.

Naruto nodded again, eyes blinking heavily. The gesture was nice even if he didn’t plan to take up the offer.

“I have to go take care of something back at the Hokage Tower, but Kakashi will be here if you need anything, alright?”

Another partial nod was all Naruto could manage before the heavy warmth surrounding him pulled him into sleep.

* * *

Minato adjusted the covers over Naruto, glad he had delayed leaving the house immediately after putting Naruto to bed that night. It was still relatively early in the night and he didn't usually talk with the Sandaime until much later so there was no rush to leave immediately. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching the slow rise and fall of his son's chest as Naruto sank deeper into sleep and hopefully better dreams. Minutes passed and Minato didn't move, burning the image into his memory. If things went wrong and something happened to prevent Naruto from staying, he wanted to have as many memories from these moments as possible. They would be painful to look back on but it would be better than never having them, he was sure.

Time stretched and Minato didn't know how long he sat there, enjoying the quiet with only Naruto's soft breathing to break the silence. A shadow cut across the light streaming in from the hallway. He didn't have to look up to recognize the outline of his sensei sketched out on the floor.

"Everything alright?" Jiraiya asked from his position leaning against the door frame, arms crossed.

Minato could hear the other questions hidden inside the first. The older man was asking about Minato, himself, just as much as about Naruto.

"Yeah," Minato breathed, rubbing his hands over his thighs before pushing up to his feet. "I've just been making sure he got back to sleep without trouble."

Jiraiya's tone was level and his face was cast in shadow with the hall light behind him so Minato couldn't see any more than an outline. "Kakashi will be here in case there are any problems."

“I know, I just want to be sure.” Rising slowly to his feet, Minato took one last look at his son before silently retreating from the room. He closed the door behind him with slow, careful movements. “He wouldn’t tell me about his nightmare.” The disappointment was more evident in his voice than he had originally wanted.

Jiraiya shrugged guiding the Hokage back down the hall to the staircase. “What do you expect? This is still new to the kid, _you’re_ still new to the kid. It’s gonna take time.” When Minato didn’t respond right away, Jiraiya sighed and patted his shoulder, repeating in sympathy. “Just give it some time.”

“And if I don’t have that time?” Minato countered with a frown. He shook his head, picking up his pace and sparing his sensei from replying.

At the bottom of the staircase, Kakashi slouched against the wall, his one eye trained on the two men coming down from the second floor. Rin stood nearby, looking at a landscape hanging on the wall with false interest. At their footsteps on the stairs she turned around and watched them.

“How’s he doing?” Rin asked moving to the base of the staircase across from Kakashi. “It sounded like he was pretty upset.”

“Nightmare,” Minato responded, thankful for Rin’s concern and glad she was willing to stand guard duty with Kakashi. She had a full schedule with her duties as a medical-nin and he hesitated to put any additional requirements on her at first, but she assured him it was no trouble and shown up with Kakashi a few hours after the two had left Naruto’s medical examination. “He’s asleep again and hopefully he won’t have any other problems through the rest of the night.”

“Don’t worry, Sensei,” Rin smiled, “we’ll look after him.”

Minato nodded, hesitating at the door. He knew his two remaining students would protect Naruto with their lives if necessary and Rin could more than handle another nightmare, but he still searched for a reason to delay a little longer. Beside him, Jiraiya let out an exasperated sigh, slapped him on the shoulder, and pushed him to the door.

“We’ll be back, probably late,” Jiraiya called behind them as they moved out to the dimly lit front walk. The door closed behind them, cutting off the bright light from the front hall.

Minato suppressed rolling his eyes at his sensei at being pushed out the door, but he couldn’t blame the man. If everything went well, Jiraiya would be able to see _his_ sensei for the first time in years. If Minato had been in his shoes he too would be understandably eager. So without looking back, Minato sped up his pace and turned down the road. He leapt up onto a small wooden stand and pushed off to travel over the roof tops, Jiraiya close behind him.

Tsunade was waiting for them at the front door of the Tower. She tapped her foot as she stood under the entrance lights, arms crossed and mild frown on her face. “About time,” she grumbled when they landed on the steps in front of her.

“Something came up,” Minato said, but the medic didn’t wait to listen to him flipping her hand and turning to move inside.

“If you say so,” she said pulling open the doors only to pause just inside the building. “So where is it?”

“It’s in the lower levels,” Minato said once he and Jiraiya were also inside and the door closed.

Nodding, Tsunade fell in step behind Minato as he set off to the stairwell. The lights were dimmed due to the late hour and the halls quiet. In a few offices, the lamps were turned on for the few working late. They quickly passed through the hall and down the stairs. The lower levels were lit with the same low light and sounded as quiet as they did at any other time of day.

No one spoke until they arrived to the door and Minato ran through the long sequence of hand signs to grant them access. Minutes passed as he carefully deactivated every security measure. By the time he was done his arms were fatigued and Tsunade’s eyebrows had risen toward her blonde hair.

“Well, at least you’re not taking any chances about security,” she commented dryly, arms once again crossed before her.

“Some of those I added after I found Naruto,” Minato admitted, “I didn’t think there was any possible way to travel through it, but since being proven otherwise I’ve increased the security I already had in place.”

“Like that guard I noticed,” Tsunade said as they moved into the room.

Minato merely nodded, unsurprised that she had noticed the ANBU he had placed to guard the door at all times. The inside of the room was mostly the same as they had last left it. Thankfully, the stain that marred the floor had been cleaned up. Minato hadn’t done it, or allowed anyone into the room to do it, so it must have been Jiraiya, the only other seal master in the village adept enough to deactivate the complicated security seals without setting off the alarms. Jiraiya had also been the one to reseal the room last, when they had mistakenly brought Naruto down to jog some of his memories.

“You may want to place a guard inside the room itself,” Tsunade said, her voice half distracted as she looked at the mirror standing in the center of the room. “Better to stop them from getting through at all than letting them into here, even if it’s only into this one room. We don’t know their abilities, after all. They may be more skilled than we expected.”

Tilting his head to the side in partial acknowledgement Minato thought about the idea. “I’ve considered it.”

“That would mean giving more than just Minato and myself access to the room,” Jiraiya said with his own frown. “Do we want more people able to gain access?”

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Minato admitted. He gave Tsunade a few minutes to look over the mirror before motioning that she should move to the side. Stepping up in front of the chakra glass, he felt suddenly nervous about opening up the window. He didn’t know what he would find on the other side, but a part of him strongly doubted it would be his predecessor. However, the balance of the information they could gain outweighed the risk, in Minato’s opinion. He seriously doubted the Sandaime would allow anyone else information on how to travel through the mirror and the likelihood of a stronghold like the Tower being overrun was low.

Taking a breath and calming his nerves, Minato ran through the long string of hand seals to unlock and open the mirror. A light flashed across the glassy surface before it settled to show the room beyond Minato’s world. He frowned as he looked into the other place. There was a figure on the other side of the mirror, but it was not the Sandaime.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters slowly start getting longer and story more complicated as more parts get added. Let me know if you have any critiques, comments, or suggestions. I love to hear from people!


	9. Ghosts

 

**Chapter 9: Ghosts**

The seal breakers, after working tirelessly day and night, finally broken through the many protections surrounding the hidden door in the Hokage Tower. A few of them had been injured and even died in the effort of dismantling the traps laid by the Sandaime-hokage but Pain was certain it was worth the sacrifice of time and men. He wasn't sure what he would find when he went through the door, he didn't allow anyone else into the room before him, but his face displayed no reaction to the almost empty room uncovered by their efforts.

Pain didn’t have long to examine the room before a barrage of kunai burst from the walls immediately flanking the door. He pushed the attack away before having to dodge the second volley following too soon after the first. As soon as he landed a series of explosive tags appeared on the wall closest to him and he pushed the explosion back on itself, creating a large smoking crater in one side of the room.

Moments passed as Pain stood ready for another attack. The dust settled from the explosion and still nothing happened. Slowly, he straightened, shifting his weight as he judged the likelihood of the existence of more traps. When still nothing happened, he relaxed and took a better look around the room.

A quick check of the rest of the room showed no other exits besides the door Pain entered. A thin layer of debris spread across the once clean space but the tall blank mirror in the center was left undamaged. A quick analysis of the traps and their pattern led Pain to believe the mirror had been specifically left out of harm’s way when the traps were first set.

Pain slowly moved to the mirror, examining the smooth black crystal surface. He could see with his Rinnegan that an immense amount of chakra flowed through the crystal glass, but it seemed dormant, inactive. Walking around the object, he could see it was made of chakra crystal but more than that was difficult to determine. There were no indications what it did or how it worked, no seals, carvings, or symbols.

Konan entered the room behind him, though all others stayed away by express order. She didn’t say anything, letting Pain decide on how or when or if to open the conversation as she so often did.

Several minutes of silence passed before Pain spoke. “There is no other way out of this room,” he stated as he trailed a finger down the surface of the glass, checking the reaction to chakra. His reflection stared back at him dulled by the dusty surface and dim light in the room.

There was another moment of silence before Konan replied. In the glass, Pain could see her dark outline, the brighter hallway behind her shining through the ruined doorway.

“The Iwa forces are retreating,” she said in a level tone, giving no emotion away. “We have been able to mostly repel all attacks but only because of our informant and the Konoha shinobi have been splitting themselves between our lines and Iwa’s. Konoha was not expected to still have as many high ranking shinobi left after the initial assault. This long drawn out battle in the streets is not to our advantage.”

It was the most she had said at once in a while, perhaps months or even longer. Her reflection didn’t move as she spoke and Pain’s eyes didn’t waver from it as he stopped with one hand pressed to the glass.

“We had two objectives in coming here,” Pain started though he knew she was well aware of both, his eyes raking across the crystal glass before him. “The first was to neutralize Konoha’s power so as to eliminate any obstruction they present to our plans with the added benefit of cutting down Iwa’s military at the same time. The second was to acquire the Kyūbi before the container learned to wield its power. If the Jinchūriki ever learned to master the Kyūbi’s power it could become problematic.”

Pain continued to move around the mirror, hand trailing over the surface and drawing smooth paths in the dust covered surface. “The Kyūbi was brought to this level, most likely to this room but there are no other escape routes from here…It must have something to do with this mirror.”

Konan moved closer, examining the mirror with new interest. “Could we take it with us if we were forced to retreat?” she asked, though her tone didn’t seem to expect and answer.

“Do you believe our situation to be that dire?” Pain returned only half listening for her answer as he crouched down in the back.

“Konoha could not stand against us if you used your full strength,” the kunoichi responded with indifference, “But you have already stated you do not wish to show your full strength to the world, yet.”

“Better to leave them floundering and blaming Iwa,” Pain agreed. However, that meant they could very well be pushed out of their stronghold if the tides of battle shifted. Neither said it, but both understood very well the dangers of limiting their strength in the battle. “Our objectives concerning Konoha have been met. It will take the city time to recover from this and the added instability of relations with Iwa will only work in our favor if we are pushed from the city. Our new focus is to find the Kyūbi and secure it.”

Silence fell again as Pain finished his examination of the mirror. Standing, he moved toward the door. They would have to find other sources of information concerning the device. It would be next to impossible to understand in the short time they had without additional reference. Konan fell into step close behind, her footsteps quiet echoes of his own.

They were almost to the door, about to leave when a faint noise came from behind and light suddenly flooded into the room adding to the few torches that remained standing. Pain turned back looking with Konan at the mirror in renewed interest.

Instead of a blank, dark surface the mirror reflected a different, brighter room and staring back at them were several new figures.

“Who are you?” the first and central figure, a blond man, demanded. His face had quickly transformed from shock to hardened focus as his distinctive blue eyes took in both Pain and Konan. Behind the blond stood Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade, also of the Sannin.

Pain took his time making his observations letting the question hang unanswered in the air. “You are the Yondaime-hokage,” he finally said, choosing to ignore the opening question altogether. He recognized the deceased man from photographs he had seen and was careful to keep any surprise he felt at the unexpected appearance at bay.

“Yahiko? Konan?” Jiraiya gasped in shock as Tsunade muttered “That kid,” under her breath.

“Jiraiya-sensei,” Pain acknowledge, but the bulk of his attention was drawn to the mirror itself. Now that it was activated, chakra flowed freely through the crystal marking out patterns and directions. If he could make sense of the flow it would bring them that much closer to understanding the device and what had happened to the Kyūbi. Though, his initial guess was the vessel was sent to wherever he was currently seeing.

Jiraiya’s voice distracted his attention for a moment as his old sensei barked, “Quickly, Minato! He’s using his Rinnegan to observe the chakra flow!”

The Hokage glanced at Jiraiya with a surprised frown before quickly running through hand signs at an incredible speed. The mirror went blank in the middle of the sequence, cutting off any chance of seeing the completed set and plunging the room into half light again.

Silence reigned, made more prominent by the contrast of light and sound that had briefly entered the room. Pain continued to watch the mirror as the last ripped of chakra ran through it, only speaking when the crystal was completely still again. “Interesting.”

* * *

Minato continued to stare at the mirror long after it had gone dark. In his mind’s eye, he could still see the red headed man and his companion that stood on the other side. He ran over the image several times, ensuring he committed it to memory even as he desperately tried to understand what they had been doing in that room. They had both worn the same cloak, implying some kind of organization. Their head bands had been from Amegakure, but there was a slash through the markings which meant they were most likely rogue ninjas, probably part of the invasion force that attacked Naruto’s Konoha. The most startling thing, though, had been the man’s eyes…

“Oh boy,” Jiraiya sighed behind him, drawing Minato out of his spinning thoughts. “Things just became much more complicated.”

“What do you mean, sensei?” Minato asked, finally turning from the mirror and facing the older man. “Who was that? You seemed to know him.”

Jiraiya nodded a worried and puzzled frown on his face. “I do, or I did. He was one of my students around the time of the Second Shinobi War, before I took on your training.”

“Two of those orphans,” Tsunade said a scowl on her face as she looked from the mirror back to her old teammate, “But I thought you said they all died.”

“That’s what I believed, too,” Jiraiya murmured his voice dropping in thought, “but that happened before our two worlds supposedly split…”

“So who was he?” Minato repeated again. They could discover the mystery on how the man had survived later, the more pressing issue was that the other mirror had apparently fallen into enemy hands.

“During the Second Shinobi war we came across three orphans not long after our battle with Hanzou. They followed us and asked us to train them. I decided to stay with them for a while and teach them ninjitsu until they could look after themselves. Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan…” Jiraiya’s eyes misted over as he gazed back into the past memories. “They were talented, all three of them, but Nagato…he had the Rinnegan.”

“The Rinnegan?” Minato repeated torn between shock and disbelief. “That’s supposed to be a myth,” but he was talking more out of reaction. He’d seen the ripple pattern of the man’s eyes and it matched the stories he’d heard about the legendary dojutsu. Plus, Jiraiya wasn’t one to exaggerate about things like this, if his old sensei said it was the Rinnegan chances were it was.

Jiraiya only shrugged. “All myth is based in fact. Nagato had the Rinnegan, for a while I thought he was the child of prophecy I’d been told about, but then I heard that all three of those kids were killed so I assumed I was wrong. Add the complication that the person we just saw was not Nagato, but Yahiko and he did not have the Rinnegan when I knew him but now seems to possess it…” Jiraiya shook his head.

“Perhaps you should check up on them again, see if they really did die,” Tsunade said, worried frown on her face. “Like you said, they died before the two time lines began to differ, as far as we know. I’d rather not be surprised by someone like that.”

Minato glanced back to the mirror picturing the man on the other side. Anyone with the Rinnegan could be dangerous, separated by dimensions or not. He turned and moved toward the door calling one of the ANBU guards to his side. “I want a guard inside the chamber at all times, as well. Under no circumstances is that room to be left unwatched.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” the guard said before he disappeared.

Jiraiya and Tsunade followed him out into the hallway. They only had to wait a moment before the ANBU with the additional guard returned. The additional guard slipped into the room, disappearing into the shadows.

Minato turned to the ANBU captain. “I’m going to seal the room again. There’s no way out from the inside so watch closely, you’ll be the only one besides myself and Jiraiya –sensei who is authorized to open this door.”

The ANBU captain nodded and Minato ran through the hand seals, sealing the room with the mirror and guard inside. Then, leaving the guards to their work, Minato turned back down the hall. “They’re almost certainly after the Kyūbi inside Naruto.”

“There wouldn’t be any other reason to worry about the mirror, unless they were just in there by coincidence when we activated the device,” Jiraiya agreed, speeding up his pace to match Minato’s.

Glancing to his former teacher, Minato said “I need to know everything you knew about those three children. The information may be old but at least it’s something.”

Jiraiya nodded. “I’ll go over their abilities and what I taught them before I leave for Amegakure. It’s time I double checked just what happened to those three in our own world.”

 “I’ll go through our records to see if we have anything on the Rinnegan itself. It probably won’t be more than rumors and legend, but anything is better than nothing,” Tsunade said, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I have a feeling we can’t be too prepared for whatever comes our way,” Minato said.

* * *

Kakashi let his eyes slide over the room even as he let his ears strain to hear into the corridor beside him. He had positioned himself so he could monitor both, choosing this particular break room because it was the closest to the intelligence division. With much of the village in rubble, behind, or too near enemy lines they had been forced to make do with the little space they had setting up emergency facilities and relocating departments where they could.

After looking at the most suspicious reports indicating a leak, the Copy-nin determined the intel division closest to the Hokage's make-shift office the most likely housing a leak. He made several assumptions by doing so, if the spy didn't act on every piece of intel they came across, had more connections than he realized, or some of the suspicious activities were simply coincidences then he could very well be in the wrong area. It was good starting place, though, and he needed to start from somewhere.

Kakashi already informed the Hokage about his suspicions and they'd begun subtly rechanneling vital information around the specific office to other divisions for processing. If he was wrong and the spy wasn't located in that sub-division, they could very well be aiding the spy in gaining more intel.

Still, it would be the perfect place for a spy to position themselves, not too high up to be found easily, but not completely out of the loop, which was why Kakashi was slowly waiting to see or hear anything that would give him anymore clues. He had a list of suspects, but it was barely shorter than the number of people working or in contact with the intel office in question. He couldn't risk moving before he was sure and possibly miss his chance to capture the spy. The culprit would undoubtedly have valuable information that could prove vital to reclaiming the rest of the village. If nothing else, they could find out exactly what information had been compromised and change their plans accordingly.

A door slammed shut, making Kakashi twitch where he sat slouch against the wall. He had started to dose off without realizing it. In all honesty, he was probably too tired from the days of constant fighting to be conducting the delicate type of surveillance work he was attempting, but he had no choice. Times were desperate. Silently berating himself for letting fatigue get the better of him, he tried to shift and stretch as much he could without drawing attention. He'd been working on the problem of the spy for over forty-eight hours and only a few cat naps during that time. He need a rest before he made a mistake to give himself away, but was reluctant at giving up with such an important mission on his shoulders.

The room slowly emptied out as people headed back to their post, muttering and shuffling tiredly as they left. Only a few exhausted people remained, napping on blanket folded on the floor. Several of the remainders were people on his short list of suspects so Kakashi remained where he was, eyeing each in turn.

Footsteps behind him in the hall caught his attention and Kakashi turned his focus to listening to the passers. They came from the direction of the intel office in question and he tuned his ears to listen to the muffled voices.

"Almost nineteen hours without a break," one female voice complained. Kakashi thought he vaguely recognized it but couldn't put a face to the voice. "I can't wait for this nightmare to be over."

"We can only do our best in a situation like this," another male voice sighed, sounding resigned, "Everyone's working over time now."

"Not Kyou, he's been taking breaks at the oddest times," the first voice complained, muttering lower than before. Thankfully the pair were drawing closer to the break room and Kakashi could still hear despite the drop in volume. "I turned around the other day to get his opinion on something and he wasn't there! No word or anything, just gone. Geeze, he's so inconsiderate."

Kakashi's ears perked up just a little bit though he didn't let his interest show even to the near empty room.

"Kyou stays late to work, too, and things are so crazy now everyone is running around. Even our department's been split up between different offices and floors. He could be running around to the different offices like I was doing half the day." The last few words were forced through a yawn that carried on past the statement.

The kunoichi just huffed in disbelief, but didn't respond. Their footsteps were moving down the hallway away from where Kakashi sat in the break room. 

_Sporadic disappearances, huh?_ Kakashi mused to himself.

An erratic break schedule was hardly proof. It was barely evidence considering how everything had been thrown out of balance since the attack began, but Kakashi didn’t have much else to go on and his gut told him to look closer. Ignoring the stiffness that had settled into his limbs from hours on the floor, Kakashi pushed himself to his feet. He’d make a report to the Hokage then go check up on this Kyou person.

* * *

“Naruto-kun, are you alright?”

Naruto twitched at the sudden sound, but didn’t answer. With his back turned toward the door he stared at the two shadows thrown by the hall light against the wall. He recognized Rin’s voice and could tell the other was Kakashi from the man’s wild hair.

“We know you’re awake,” Rin’s voice was gentle as she came over to the bedside. “Did you have another nightmare?”

Still not answering, Naruto rolled over and looked to the door, blinking in the bright light that streamed into the room. Rin was standing next to the bed, bending over as she looked down at him. By the door Kakashi leaned against the frame, using the light from the hall to read from a book.

Shifting his eyes back to Rin, Naruto tried not to fidget as she drew his blanket back up to his chin from where it had fallen. He didn’t like people towering over him. It happened often enough, considering how short he was, and he was used to it when he was up on his feet. Then, at least he could fight or run away if he needed to, but lying down like he was at that moment made him feel much more vulnerable. He shifted again, pulling the blanket up farther over his face.

Rin glanced back to Kakashi. The hall light momentarily lit the uncertain look on her face before she turned back and her expression was hidden in shadow again. She stepped back to the foot of the bed before slowly sitting down on the mattress edge. Naruto unconsciously relaxed at the added space between them.

“We thought we heard you having a nightmare,” Rin said, her voice even more gentle than before, if that were possible, as if she expected him to break if she spoke too loud.

The silence stretched as Naruto stared at her. He wasn’t sure what to say. Earlier, when Minato had woken him from the nightmare he’d almost cried into the man’s shoulder and taken his comfort, but he’d been caught off guard after suddenly waking up. Normally, he wouldn’t do that for anyone, or perhaps it was because he’d never before had the chance. He wasn’t sure and it was becoming more confusing as time passed.

 There was also something…different about Minato. Maybe it was the fact that the Hokage was the first person he’d met in the new world and had taken care of him or being with his long time hero in the flesh, but Naruto felt safe with him. It wasn’t quite the same as being with the Sandaime, but it wasn’t completely different, either. It made Minato seem less like a stranger even though they’d only just met days ago. These two that he’d been left with, though…

“I’m fine,” Naruto finally said, aware that both adults were still waiting for an answer. He’d dealt with nightmares alone before, and he could do it again.

“Talking about it helps, you know,” Kakashi said sounding bored but echoing the same thing Minato had said earlier. He held his book in front of him but he was watching Naruto with a side long glance, head tilted toward the bed.

Dredging up a smile, Naruto shook his head. “No, it’s alright. I’m fine.”

Even with a shadow covering her face, Naruto could tell Rin was frowning. He could hear it in her voice. “Well…if you need anything just call us. We’ll be right here.” She stood from the bed, smoothing the covers briefly before moving to the door. She stepped past Kakashi into the hall.

Kakashi looked up properly from his book and reached for the door. “Do you want us to send Minato-sensei up when he returns? He should be back shortly.”

Naruto shook his head. Part of him liked the idea of Minato coming up again, but another part accustomed to sleeping alone in an apartment for the last several years resisted. Kakashi shrugged and started pulling the door closed, but Naruto stopped him. “Don’t close it all the way,” he said quickly.

The shinobi glanced at him before shrugging again and leaving the door open a crack. Kakashi disappeared down the hall, his and Rin’s footsteps padding quietly toward the stairs mixed with their hushed whispers. Naruto listened to them move away, relaxing into the bed again. He pulled the covers tighter around himself and shifted around to a more comfortable position, though he wasn’t planning on going to sleep any time soon.

It had been the same dream again with the attack, the mob, and the red mist. The fear stayed with him, even when he was awake and he didn’t want to risk plunging back into the center of it by going back to sleep right away. The attack was frightening. He’d never been in a battle before and though all his classmates played at fighting in shinobi battles and wars, the prospect of a real one with its uncertainty was more nerve wracking than he thought it would be. The mob was a scene he was too familiar with not to fear. He’d been in situations similar to that, if not as bad, and he knew exactly what could happen if it were real.

The truly terrifying thing about the dream, though, was the red mist. Sitting in his bed, Naruto knew the mob wouldn’t attack him. The people in this village weren’t angry at him at all and no one knew he was there in any case. He didn’t think his luck was bad enough to have two Konoha’s attacked within a week. Plus, there were two guards just downstairs who seemed willing to defend or help him if they were needed.

The red mist Naruto had never encountered or even heard of before, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling it gave him. It was like it was following him out of his dreams and into the waking world, hanging just out of sight. Looking around, Naruto scanned the corners of the room half expecting to see it there, hanging like it had in the dream. The room was empty though, free of any mist red or otherwise.

The light from the hall certainly helped, Naruto thought as he settled back staring at his narrow view into the hall. He could almost feel the phantom malice still hanging around the darkest corners of the room. It reminded him of his first few nights in his apartment, huddled in bed and frightened of his new surroundings. It almost made him change his mind about Minato coming up again.

Almost.

Naruto resisted the impulse, though. Perhaps it was out of habit, but he couldn’t imagine himself calling for help for nothing more than a dream. He’d been dealing with bad dreams and worse on his own for years and a part of him couldn’t help but wonder when he’d have to go back to that. The last several days with Minato and the growing group of people he’d encountered was nice, but no one had ever stayed in his life for long. It was only a matter of time before they grew tired of him or left for whatever reason. Maybe they would just send him back to his own village.

In the back of his head, Naruto felt that faint itch at the thought.

Whatever happened, Naruto couldn’t imagine any of them being there permanently, which meant he couldn’t let himself get too attached. He liked being here with everyone. For the first time, it felt like he was a part of a family like the ones he saw his classmates with back home. Having this glimpse and losing it would be painful enough without getting more involved. Besides, Naruto told himself, the Hokage would have more important things to do than sit by his bedside all night. With that last thought, he curled his knees into his chest and prepared for the long wait till dawn.

* * *

“Naruto-kun! Breakfast!”

The call startled Naruto awake making him tumbled from his bed to the floor in a heap of blankets. Slowly righting himself, he rubbed the growing bump on his head where he’d hit the floor. “Too early,” he grumbled to himself as he looked around the sunlit room through half open eyes. He must have fallen asleep at some point after Rin and Kakashi left.

“Naruto-kun?” the voice was coming from the bottom of the stairs now.

“’M comin’!” Naruto yelled back, still rubbing his eye as he stifled another yawn.

“Hurry up before it gets cold!”

Naruto pushed himself to his feet still moaning from being woken up. “Yeah, yeah.” He shuffled down the hall and stairs, still yawning and scratching his head. He didn’t need to see himself in the hall mirror to know his hair was sticking up all over. He hitched up the pajama pants Minato had gotten him before pushing open the swinging door and dragging himself into the kitchen.

“Good morning Naruto-kun,” Minato chuckled making Naruto blink up at his surroundings.

Minato sat at the table dressed in his blue ninja uniform, a large coffee mug steaming in front of him. He was smiling down at Naruto with a wide grin and amusement lighting his eyes. Rin stood at the stove apron around her waist and spatula in hand. A frying pan with pancakes cooking was on the burner next to her.

“Food?” Naruto asked, immediately perking up at the sounds and smells of cooking coming from the pan. “Can I have ramen today?”

“That’s hardly breakfast,” Rin said, flipping over a pancake once more before adding it to a plate next to her. She poured more batter into the pan causing a new round of sizzling to fill the room.

“But I like ramen,” Naruto complained. He pulled out another chair at the table, glancing only briefly at several burnt and oily pancakes in the trash by the door. That explained the faint burning smell that hung in the room.

Rin noticed the glance and snorted. “Minato-sensei started the pancakes. I had to step in if we wanted anything eatable for breakfast.”

“The first few are always burnt,” Minato muttered sliding down in his seat as he brought up his mug. “You always liked my cooking out in the field.”

“Not much you can do to make field rations worse, sensei,” Rin replied as she placed a plate down in front of Naruto.

Naruto eyed the steaming pancakes with equal parts hungry anticipation and longing for his favorite meal. “He can make ramen,” Naruto said, “he made some for me yesterday.” He reached for the syrup on the table.

“Pouring boiling water into instant ramen doesn’t count as cooking, Naruto-kun,” Rin said as she returned with a fork.

Minato huffed, slouching farther before he pushed himself upright. “If that’s what you think you can make me another plate.”

“If I have enough batter left,” Rin muttered rolling her eyes.

Smiling at the easy interaction, Naruto looked around the room as he ate through his breakfast. The kitchen was less formal than the entry hall, though a couple days ago it had been almost bare of food and only slightly less dusty than the rest of the house. They had cleaned the long counter running along the far wall, scrubbing the wooden surface within an inch of its life to make it suitable for cooking again. Then they’d filled the cabinets beneath the counter and fridge with some groceries Jiraiya bought before adding more groceries Minato had to get to supplement the drunk food Jiaraiya had brought home. The line of small windows above the counter and two larger windows behind the table had also been washed allowing the morning sunlight to stream through and light the room unhindered.

Looking around again, Naruto realized who was missing from the table. “Where’s the old pervert and Kakashi-san?” he asked using the nick name he’d decided for Jiraiya after seeing the Sannin’s main source of income when Minato had stepped out for a moment. Somehow, he doubted respectable shinobi were supposed to make their money from publishing erotic romance novels.

Minato snorted, choking on his coffee before gulping it down. He fought between laughing and coughing to clear his throat as he looked at Naruto with streaming eyes. “How did you come up with that name?” Minato choked out after regaining his voice.

“What else am I supposed to call someone who writes porn novels and spends half his time planning on how to spy on women?” Naruto asked, half of him was really curious. “He said when things blew over he was going to use me to pick up girls.” Jiraiya said he was a great ninja, but if he needed a kid to trap women into talking to him Naruto doubted how great the man could really be.

Rin whirled around from the stove brandishing her spatula like a weapon. “He _showed_ you those books?” she asked almost seething.

It was the angriest Naruto had ever seen her and made him stop his eating, looking at the medical-nin with wide eyes. He decided he didn’t want to see her get _really_ angry. Suddenly unsure which was the best way to answer, he only nodded slightly before adding, “He didn’t let me _read_ them, as if I’d want to anyway. Blegh.” Shaking his head at the thought, he focused back on his half finished meal.

Rin scowled, turning back to her cooking with vicious grumbling under her breath.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone with him,” Minato muttered from next to him. “But seeing as all he brought back for groceries was alcohol and snacks…” Minato shook his head. “Jiraiya-sensei had to leave the village for a little while. He’ll be back in maybe a week or two.”

“On one of his researching trips?” Naruto asked, the skepticism clear in his voice.

“Oh… he told you about those, too, did he?” Minato asked as Rin tapped her spatula against the stove top impatiently. “Well…this is for actual research. Er…what I mean is he’s looking into a serious matter.” Minato’s expression darkened for a moment before forcibly clearing. It was so quick Naruto doubted it had really happened. Then Minato was speaking again, “Though he’ll probably do some personal side research on the way…”

“Sensei! You shouldn’t be talking about that sort of thing in front of an eight year old.” Rin dropped a plate with one pancake on it in front of Minato.

“Well he obvious already knows-”Minato started before giving up. He frowned down at his plate. “I wanted more than this.”

“Well too bad. I’m saving some for Kakashi-san. He’s sleeping in the other room,” Rin added for Naruto’s benefit, “He had the second shift last night.”

Naruto, done with his pancakes, had been watching the back and forth with interest. “Oh,” he said as Rin put another two pancakes on his plate.

“Why does he get two more?” Minato asked a little petulantly eyeing his one pancake.

Rin didn’t bother turning around as she answered from the stove. “He’s a growing boy. Besides, you’re the Hokage, you can’t afford to get fat.”

Minato grumbled something in reply but it was too low for Naruto to catch. For a moment, there was quiet as everyone focused on finishing their pancakes. Rin sat down at the other end of the table with her own plate of pancakes. She covered the few remaining and set them off to the side for Kakashi when he woke.

Naruto shifted in his seat and scratched the back of his head though it did little to relieve the growing itch. He wanted to ask what was going to happen that day. He’d been there for several days and Minato had stayed home for almost all of them, spending most of the time with Naruto, teaching him about being a ninja or playing games. Naruto loved the attention, especially when he was used to being alone so much back in his own world. It was a little strange having someone around and taking care of him, but he decided he was going to enjoy it while he could. After all, he hadn’t forgotten Minato was the Hokage, eventually the man would have to go back to work.

Naruto made a conscious effort not to let his thoughts take the same dark turn they had during the night. Things seemed more promising in the daylight anyway, and he couldn’t feel any lingering remnants of the nightmare that had plagued him. The bright room was empty of any hint of the red mist or the malicious feeling it brought and the mood set by the two sitting at the table with him was so cheery he had difficulty even imagining something like that coming into the kitchen.

Unable to take it anymore and needing a distraction from the nagging feeling in the back of his head, Naruto looked at Minato. “What are we going to do today? Can you teach me some cool new ninjutsu?”

Minato hesitated before answering, and then was interrupted by a knock on the door as he opened his mouth. He stood up moving out into the hall. Naruto hopped off his seat to follow. A short, grey-haired woman stood at the open front door holding a thick sheaf of paper. She had thick glasses and a stern expression that immediately made Naruto wary of her.

“Good morning, Chiyoko-san,” Minato smiled, opening the door wider to allow the woman inside. When she passed by the Hokage Naruto saw a brief grimace flash over Minato’s face before it settled into a polite expression once again.

“Hokage-sama,” Chiyoko bowed her head in a respectful gesture before looking Minato up and down. “I noticed you hadn’t arrived at the office yet.”

“Er… no,” Minato said, glancing back with a guilty expression to where Naruto hung by the corner to the kitchen. Naruto felt a wash of disappointment as he realized he wasn’t going to be spending the day with Minato, real life had caught up to him. “I’ve been having breakfast.”

Chiyoko followed Minato’s glance and looked down at Naruto. A small frown crossed face, deepening the few wrinkles but it passed when she looked back to Minato. “I assume I don’t need to remind you that the village keeps going even if you choose to take a few days off, however much they are deserved,” her voice and face softened for a moment as she said the last piece but returned to their stern expression again. “If nothing else, you’ll want to take care of the impressive stack of paperwork that’s accumulated.”

“Ah, yes,” Minato said with a sigh, “I’ll be there shortly, if you would arrange the most pressing matters on top?”

“Of course, Hokage-sama.” Chiyoko gave a more formal bow before moving to the door. Her eyes landed on Naruto once more, flicking between him and Minato. The frown returned to her face as she closed the door behind her.

Naruto moved from his place by the corner over to where Minato stood. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, Naruto-kun,” Minato said as he knelt down closer to Naruto’s level. His expression was so sincere Naruto almost believed him. “I do have responsibilities to take care of, as much as I’d like to stay and spend more time with you.” Minato’s voice brightened, “I’ll be back for dinner, though, and maybe lunch if I can get through enough work in time. We can do something together then.”

Naruto shrugged putting a smile on his face to hide his disappointment. “Alright.”

Minato stood up and moved to the closet where he grabbed his white and red Hokage jacket. “Look after him, Rin-chan,” he said to the kunoichi who had followed them from the kitchen. Rin nodded with a smile and Minato disappeared out the door.

TBC…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first wrote this story it was meant as a challenge to myself to see how complicated a story I could write without losing it. You'll see what I mean as we go. Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!


	10. Deception

 

**Chapter 10: Deception**

Minato huffed out a breath as he looked at the tall stack of paperwork he had just finished. It would have been satisfying seeing how much he had accomplished if not for the even larger stack of unfinished work that still needed reviewing. He very carefully avoided looking at those. He couldn’t avoid looking at the clock, though, and had to bite back a groan as he realized that he was going to miss lunch, again.

This would be the second day he missed having lunch with Naruto. His second day back in the office and he still hadn’t worked through all of the back log of work left from the impromptu vacation that he’d taken. That didn’t even touch on the attention he needed to give to the mirror problem sitting in the lower levels. Last night he’d gotten home late, deluding himself into thinking he could finish at least the paperwork all in one long run. He’d come home to find Naruto halfway put to bed under Kakashi’s somewhat distracted eye. Minato could only be thankful that his student had wrapped the book cover in day old newspaper.

Today Minato had been sure to arrive at the office at his normal time, only stopping to see Naruto briefly before heading out the door. He was determined to catch up on his work, hoping that if he could get to his normal level of papers and forms needing attention he would have more time to focus on his son. He also wanted to establish some of his normal schedule considering the rumors that had sprung up during his short absence. It seemed even a small break in the routine he kept for over six years was enough to encourage the most ridiculous rumors, everything from him having a secret lover and child to him being an imposter. Minato even heard of one the clerks saying he had de-aged himself and it was a double standing in for the hokage until the situation was remedied.

_Perhaps things have been a bit too peaceful if all my shinobi have to do is gossip about the Hokage’s free time_ , Minato grumbled to himself as he lifted another stack of forms off of the pile next to his desk. Then he remembered the situation that Naruto came from, the half destroyed room he’d seen through the mirror, the enemy shinobi standing in the very heart of the Hokage tower in the other world and blanched at the thought of the alternative. He’d much rather handle a few rumors than deal with a village-wide invasion.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that Minato needed to figure out what he was going to tell people. Rumors left to themselves would only grow and could become dangerous. Minato blinked, realizing he had read half a page of the document before him and hadn’t taken in any of it. With another exasperated huff, he threw down his pen and leaned back in his chair, granting himself a few minutes to think before resuming the paper war.

Despite all of his more cunning instincts, Minato wanted to tell everyone that Naruto was his son… there was no way around it. He wanted to be open about his boy, not hide Naruto away like an embarrassing secret. He had a feeling that was how Naruto had been treated most of his life and Minato wanted this village, _this_ Konoha, to be different.

However, Minato couldn’t think of a way to do it without causing more problems. Coming out and saying it would lead to questions and threats. It was a well known fact that his son had been still born. They’d buried Naruto and his mother along with the other dead from Kyūbi’s rampage years before in the presence of the entire village. Then, there was also the danger Naruto would face from assassination attempts made by other villages when word eventually got out about the “newly revived” Hokage’s son.

Minato ran his hands over his face and scowled down at the paper before him. He knew that there was a way to approach the situation. If anything, dealing with the rumors and explaining Naruto’s presence was the easiest obstacle in his path, considering that the others consisted of a war in another version of reality, a potential enemy in his own reality that wielded the legendary Rinnegan, and any number of personal problems that Naruto had stemming from the seal on the boy’s stomach to the seal apparently buried in the boy’s subconscious. That wasn’t even taking into account any complications that could arise from the previously mentioned problems.

Groaning, Minato dropped his head into his hands, resting his arms on the desk. Thinking about this was only ruining his mood and giving him a headache. He was too close to the problem to analyze it in a completely unbiased manner. His emotions were too wrapped up, too invested, in Naruto, and that was just as frustrating as anything else. He was used to being the level headed leader that could make difficult decisions, even when no one else wanted to, but now, after so many years alone and finally having a chance of a family again, Minato couldn’t remove himself enough from the problem to find an answer.

“If paperwork is that painful, I hope I never have to become Hokage,” Kakashi’s relaxed voice broke into Minato’s inner debate.

“Just wait ‘till I give you a genin team to train, you’ll have your fair share of forms to fill out,” Minato grumbled lifting his head from his hands to look at his former student.

Kakashi was perched in the open window, dressed in his black ninja uniform and green jounin vest. “I’ll fail them all, then I won’t have to worry about it,” Kakashi replied, dropping to the floor and settling into a chair. His one eye glanced over the several stacks of pending forms still waiting by the desk. “Is all that really from skipping just a few days of work?” he asked, a little incredulous.

“Backlog of work, then everything from yesterday and today added in, as well. The next chūnin exam is coming up and things are always more busy,” Minato reminded his subordinate.

“That time of year already? I’d forgotten about it,” Kakashi muttered, folding his arms over his chest. “At least it should be in another village this year, right?”  

“Thankfully yes,” Minato agreed, picking up the form that he failed to taken in before. “That’s the last thing I need is welcoming foreign shinobi into the village when we have a potential enemy out there who’s already proved themselves willing to attack the village.”

Kakashi grunted in agreement. Minato had explained about the man and woman he saw through the mirror after opening it. “When should we hear back from Jiraiya-sensei?”

“Who knows? Hopefully soon,” Minato sighed, starting at the top of the paper for the third time. “They haven’t reopened the mirror so we’re presuming they don’t know how yet, but the longer we wait the greater the possibility. We’ve quarantined it as much as possible until we have a better idea what we’re facing, so at the moment all we really can do is wait…and paperwork,” he added with a rueful grin.

Hesitating a moment, Kakashi spoke up in a leading tone, “If you don’t mind me saying so, sensei, you look like it’s more than just the paperwork on your mind at the moment.”

Minato looked up at the student whom he considered to be a very close friend. He breathed out a chuckle, letting the paper drop to the desk again. “How could I not? Between everything’s that happened…though right now my main source of concern is what to do about Naruto’s presence. Chiyoko undoubtedly noticed something, and rumors are already starting to spread…we’ve managed to keep Naruto out of the public eye, but the few times he was out were enough to get people talking. It probably wouldn’t be a problem except he looks so much like me!” Minato couldn’t help but smile at the thought, even if a part of him wished that Naruto looked a little more like his mother.

“We can’t exactly deny he’s related to you, the resemblance is a little too strong,” Kakashi agreed, eye narrowed as he contemplated the problem. “Perhaps we could tell everyone he’s your cousin, or nephew more like.”

“That’s a possibility,” Minato agreed before shrugging his shoulders in a jerking movement, “but I want to be able to call him my _son_.”

Kakashi was quiet a moment, contemplating the Hokage’s dilemma. He knew how much the man’s family meant to him, how much Minato had looked forward to being a father. “Why don’t we tell the truth then? Or at least a part of it,” he said, struck by a moment of inspiration.

“We can’t tell them about the mirror,” Minato said, knowing this would be at least one thing they would have to change in the story they told everyone.

“No, we can’t say anything about that,” Kakashi agreed with a nod, “But we could tell them that Naruto didn’t actually die, that you only reported that he died then placed him into hiding for his own protection.”

Minato didn’t answer right away, thinking over the idea. It could work, and it would explain Naruto’s sudden appearance in the village. However, a part of him felt like he was betraying the memory of his own son and simply replacing him with this new Naruto.

Kakashi, ever observant despite the disinterested look in his eye, seemed to read Minato’s thoughts. “Our Naruto is dead, sensei. You’re not betraying him or his memory by taking in this Naruto.”

Minato didn’t answer for a long moment. He knew Kakashi was right. Lingering over the dead was like a death in and of itself and more harmful than helpful, especially when the living went ignored because of it. He’d been mourning for eight years, it had been long enough. Besides, Kushina would kick his ass when he saw her next if he passed up this chance just because he felt a little uncomfortable over what he had to tell the village.

“We’ll have to tell Naruto first,” Minato sighed. He couldn’t help but be nervous at the thought of that conversation. He didn’t know how Naruto would react. He’d had so little time with his son that Minato still didn’t really know him. “And if we do that then I won’t be able to just give him back to his original village if the Sandaime asks.”

“Were you really planning to anyway?” Kakashi asked, his tone one of mild surprise mixed with doubt.

“No,” Minato admitted, “But a ninja should always keep their options open…It’s probably a good thing Jiraiya-sensei is away. He might not agree with rushing into this.”

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his feet. Minato could see the frown showing through his student’s mask. “As you say, if the other village demands Naruto back and we refuse it could mean inviting open conflict with them. They have the advantage since they can send troops over and we can’t do the same.”

“Well, there’s an easy solution to that,” Minato muttered eyes narrowing for an instant. “If things look like they’re turning that way I’ll destroy the mirror, but until then…Some enemy has already destroyed their village. If there’s even the possibility that the same threat exists here I want to know about it and right now the best way to gain information is through the mirror.” Minato paused, once again weighing the dangers and benefits of keeping the device intact. It was a delicate balancing act, one that was becoming even trickier after discovering that an enemy had access to the other side.

Shaking his head, Minato pushed the matter from his mind. He made his decision for the time being. If anything changed he would reevaluate the option of destroying the mirror. Looking up again, he frowned at Kakashi. “What are you doing here, anyway?” Minato asked, “You’re supposed to be guarding Naruto and the house.”

“Ah,” Kakashi said, the ghost of a sheepish grin stretching his mask. “I thought it would be wise to get out of the house for a little bit. Naruto’s been laying traps everywhere.”

“Traps?” Minato repeated in a confused voice. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he’s got almost the entire house booby trapped. I think he’s bored. He’s already tried to lead me into a few of them. Now he’s working on Rin-san…In all honesty, I don’t want to be around when he finally catches her off guard.” Kakashi pulled out his book and settled into a more comfortable position before flicking it open to a well worn page.

“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to work late tonight,” Minato muttered, turning to the form in front of him. He flinched at the thought of coming home to a trap-laden house and an angry Rin before determinedly focusing on the words before him. Maybe the fourth time reading it through would go better.

* * *

 “Naruto-kun, are you in here?” Rin called. From her voice it sounded like she was near the door.

Naruto clamped his hands over his mouth, trying to stifle the snickers that attempting to burst forth. He couldn’t afford to make any noise, it would ruin everything. He curled up into a tight ball, pulling in his legs with his elbows. He desperately wanted to look, but knew that if he tried he’d get caught. So with a patience which he lacked in everything else he did, Naruto sat still and waited.

Rin only had to come a few more feet into the room… just a few more feet…

“Naruto-kun,” Rin’s voice was getting a little exasperated, “This is ge-AH!” the sentence ended with a shriek of surprise as cans clattered down raining paint and glitter over everything.

Pushing himself further under the desk to avoid the worst of the splatter, Naruto couldn’t help the burst of uncontrollable laughter that slipped out between his hands. The cans stopped rolling, bumping into furniture as they dripped trails of paint across the wood floor.

There were a few moments of shocked silence. Then, “NARUTO!”

Naruto flinched, even as a wide smile spread over his face. He thought no one would ever trip one of his pranks. Kakashi had disappeared and Rin had managed to pick most of them out, but she apparently missed the one in the spare room where Naruto had hidden.

Unable to take it anymore, Naruto slowly poked his head out from under the desk. Rin was covered in a rainbow of paint and glitter Naruto had found stored in an old bedroom, arms held out from her sides, a look of shock and quickly growing anger on her face. As soon as he poked his head out, her eyes focused on him.

“Ha! Rin-chan you’re cov-“ Naruto stopped as he saw the angry look in her eyes, only then remembering his earlier decision to avoid making her mad.

“Naruto,” Rin growled, low and threatening.

“Um,” Naruto said, the smile falling from his face. Then, he shot out from under the desk, dodging past Rin’s knees and grasping fingers and out into the hall, his painted foot prints tracking over the wooden floor.

“You’re dead!” Rin yelled, chasing after him.

Naruto grinned to himself. He was going to pay for this when Rin caught him, but until then it certainly livened up the boring afternoon. Naruto briefly wondered if he could lead her into any of the other traps before he was cornered. With another laugh, he turned toward the nearest one. He was already in trouble, might as well make the most of it.

* * *

Pain bent over the charred and destroyed remains of the Hokage’s personal files. The vast majority of them were destroyed beyond recovery and the few that were readable only contained gibberish which looked like it belonged to personnel files. As useful as information on specific ninja could be, they had a spy for that. The more important goal was finding anything relating to the mirror in the lower levels.

The mirror had not activated since the first incident and though Pain had thoroughly examined both it and the room where it was stored, he could find no more indications regarding activating or manipulating the device. All he had were those few seconds of observing of the chakra flow. He had sketched out the chakra paths and their possible implications on a scroll but it wasn’t much to go by if he wanted to know the specifics on the mirror.

Konan took over most of the tactical direction, bothering him with only the most important issues as he tirelessly searched. He also ordered their spy to find anything relating to the objects stored in the lowest levels of the Tower, hoping the spy would produce more information than ruined documents. Konoha’s ninjas tasked with getting rid of their most sensitive information did a good job, and Pain started to wonder if he was wasting his time. Perhaps it would have been better to assign some subordinates to this job, but on reconsideration he couldn’t entrust this task to anyone else. No one else would know what to look for regarding the mirror.

Then, finally, late in the night he discovered something.

It was a half-remnant of a half-thought, a scribbled idea on the edge of a burnt scroll. It was only through sheer luck that the small fragment had not been completely obliterated like the other destroyed documents and sensitive information, but sometimes sheer luck turned the tides of battle and changed the fates of nations. Pain knew this quite well and was more than willing to exploit any advantage he uncovered to gain his goal.

It was difficult to say for certain, but Pain had a feeling the partial seal in the scroll had something to do with the crystal glass that they discovered deep below the Hokage Tower. He wouldn’t be able to learn much more from the fragment. It didn’t contain enough information to shed any more light on how the mirror worked, but it gave him hope that there were other pieces of salvageable information within the pile of ashes.

Energy renewed despite the late hour, Pain redoubled his efforts. Losing the Kyūbi was not an option and he would not let himself fail.

* * *

“I’m sorry, I’m not authorized to give out that information,” the harried desk nin said, simultaneously shifting through a pile of folders on an old table set up as her work space.

“It could be vital to our counter-strategy,” Kyou bit out through clenched teeth, “How can we know what to plan for if we don’t know what they acquired in the areas they over took?”

The Kunoichi pinched her nose and closed her eyes for a moment, leaning an elbow on the splintered and charred surface. The sudden weight made the make-shift desk tilt on uneven legs. Kakashi could hear her sigh even from his place hidden in the shadows.

“I’ve already told you,” she said, as though she were explaining to a particularly dense toddler, “only ANBU and those with special clearance are allowed to know what was in the lower levels of the Tower-“

“But-“

“ _IF_ you want to know,” She continued through the interruption, one finger raised to stop the man mid-sentence, “you’ll have to submit a written request detailing the specific information you need to know.”

“We’re at _war_!” Kyou exclaimed, slamming a hand down on the table, making it wobble and spill documents down onto the dirty floor. “We can’t sit around waiting for written requests and red tape to get the things we need!”

The kunoichi slammed her own hands down on the table and leveled a withering glare at the man harassing her. She pushed herself up to her full height, which unfortunately was still half a head shorter than Kyou, but managed to look threatening nonetheless. “Exactly! We’re at war with an invasion force inside our own walls. Right now, maintaining proper security is more important than ever considering the massive amount of intelligence compromises we already know about and not to mention the many leaks we probably DON’T know about. If you want to see sensitive information of that classification, you have to get me PROOF you can see it. Now get out before I call someone in to escort you out.”

Kakashi silently applauded the girl as Kyou cursed under his breath and whirled around toward the door. Kakashi knew that she was only a newly promoted chūnin. She pass in the previous exam several months ago and now she was standing up to someone technically her senior since Kyou was slated to test for jounin very soon. Looking at the girl’s blood shot eyes and haggard face, Kakashi supposed that she was too tired to deal with pushy and unauthorized requests, no matter from whom they came.

Slipping out the door after Kyou, Kakashi followed his suspect until the man returned to his own office. After seeing Kyou enter the cramped and disorganized room, the copy-nin turned for the Hokage’s office to report. He’d been following Kyou for almost two days, tailing the man’s every move, listening to his conversations, and sneaking peaks at what he was working on in his department. He’d checked what areas Kyou had been involved with and many of them had been compromised in one form or the other. Adding it all together, Kakashi was reasonably certain he had pinpointed their spy.

Kyou’s latest attempt to glean information on the contents of the Tower’s lower levels only backed up the other evidence he had, however circumstantial. They needed to be sure, though, if they were going to move. They could not afford to follow a false trail and tip the real spy off, sending them back to their employers, or worse, deeper underground in the Konoha forces. Kakashi had an idea for confirming his suspicions, but there would be risks involved. He needed the Hokage’s permission and help if he was going to set up his trap.

The Sandaime was still in his office, as he always seemed to be since the invasion’s start. Kakashi didn't know how the older man found the energy. Though, looking at the haggard face in front of him, he knew this would be the Hokage's last war and one way or another they would need to find a new leader at the end of it. The Hokage looked twice the age he had only a week ago, which wasn't saying much considering how old the man was in the first place.

The Sandaime looked up and saw Kakashi standing in the doorway. He nodded his head, granting entry. "Kakashi-san, have you found any new information on your suspect?"

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, bowing in greeting as he fully entered the room. "I have, sir." He glanced around at the other occupants, members of Intel with charts and papers before them.

Sandaime, noticing his glance, nodded to the others in the room. "If you would excuse us, we can continue the briefing in a few moments."

The intel-nin nodded and gathered their papers and scrolls, bowing themselves out of the room. Kakashi waited until the last one had left and shut the door behind him, his eye following the straggler’s every last move out the door.

“What news do you have of our spy?” the Sandaime asked, not waiting for Kakashi and getting straight to the point. They didn’t have the time prevaricate.

Kakashi nodded, appreciating the direct opening. “The majority of the evidence I have points to the one man I mentioned earlier. Though there are several others who could also fit, but I believe this man Kyou is most likely the spy.”

“But you don’t have definitive proof,” the Hokage stated, not bothering making it a question. He held his pipe, curling with smoke, clenched between his teeth. It was one of the few comforts that the aging leader had in the days since the invasion.

Kakashi paused a moment, a little embarrassed to admit it. “No, sir, there’s no proof one way or another for any of them. I do, however, have a plan to draw out the right one.”

The Sandaime set aside several maps and lists in a pile on the corner of the desk and fixed Kakashi with all of his attention. “What is your plan? I don’t need to remind you we’re limited on what we can do at the moment, being stretched as thin as we are. We can’t really afford to keep diverting intel away from that office you recommended. The others are becoming overly taxed, though that can’t be helped.”

“I understand, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said with a nod. “The plan is simple enough. We’ll use information as bait to draw the traitor out and then capture them. I will need several shinobi skilled in capturing targets alive, but other than that only the information to set the trap.”

“Good,” the Sandaime approved, “The sooner we take care of this traitor the better, hopefully they haven’t managed to slip any more into our forces undetected. What information will you need?”

Kakashi didn’t let himself hesitate, though he knew the importance of the particular intel for which he was going to ask. “I need information on the objects stored in the lower level of the Tower.”

The Hokage stopped, pulling the pipe from his mouth as he stared at Kakashi. “That is extremely sensitive information. I’m not sure we can take the risk of losing it should the spy escape. Is there anything else you can use to bait your trap?”

Thinking about it, Kakashi shook his head. “The one common denominator between all of the suspects is they have all tried to obtain information on the lower levels of the Hokage Tower, though it is classified far about their clearance level. My main suspect especially has been attempting to get a hold of this information even when he gave up on other pieces of more practical intel…Whoever it is has also gotten more careful over the last couple of days, except for the repeated attempts on the information I specified. They may be suspicious that we know there’s a spy in our ranks. If we truly want to draw this person in, I believe we need to use something they can’t refuse and considering how much they seem to be trying to get the information on the Hokage Tower…”

“This may be the only thing sweet enough to draw the fly into the trap,” The Hokage sighed, clamping down so hard on his pipe that Kakashi thought he might break his teeth. The old man growled in frustration, rising from his chair and pacing down the length of the room. “You do not know how dangerous that information can be,” he said visibly fighting with himself.

Kakashi thought that he knew very well how dangerous it could be. There were many dangerous items kept in the lowest part of the Hokage Tower, weapons, research projects, forbidden jutsu, all of which could be used against Konoha if they were in enemy hands. “Perhaps if we knew precisely what part of the information he wants, or if he’s just looking for general information on what they now have in their possession.”

The Hokage growled again, looking directly at Kakashi with a glare the younger man knew wasn’t meant for him. “I know exactly what they want, and I’m afraid nothing less will satisfy the spy and draw him completely out.”

Hesitating, Kakashi asked anyway, “What exactly is it they’re after?”

The Sandaime didn’t answer right away. Instead his gaze swung past Kakashi to the far wall. He stood, pipe clenched in his teeth, hands clasped behind his back for a long moment, lost in thought. “The information…concerns where Naruto was sent and how to retrieve him.”

Kakashi felt an added weight settle in his chest. If the spy did manage to evade their trap with the information they would be putting Naruto in danger. The last thing Kakashi wanted to do was allow any more harm to befall his sensei’s son. There was speculation that one of the reasons why Amegakure invaded with Iwa in the first place was to obtain the Kyūbi. With the demon fox, their small country would have added to their military and political strength. No definitive evidence had been found to support the theory, but knowing that this spy was looking for information related to Naruto’s location certainly lent weight to it. “I see,” was all he could say after a moment.

Still, Kakashi braced himself. They were at war with the entire village, all its citizens, and even the security of the Land of Fire as a whole at stake. They couldn’t afford to back down or lose this battle. From the way the Hokage’s shoulders slumped then straightened, he knew that his leader had come to the same conclusion.

“I will give you some of the information to use in your trap, I’ll edit what I can without compromising its apparent authenticity,” the Hokage said, sounding more laden than moments before, “Take whatever people you need for it…within reason, but don’t keep them too long. They’re needed on the front lines, as well.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi nodded, mentally reviewing the names of those still alive and well enough to help in the capture.

“Kakashi,” the Sandaime’s voice was grave and serious, all the more so without the honorific, “I expect you to capture this spy. If you can’t capture him, kill him, and if you can’t kill him under no circumstances allow him to obtain that information.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi bowed low, understanding exactly what the Hokage was entrusting him with and knowing he would rather be dead than return without the spy captured and alive or the man’s head. For this mission more than any other, he had to succeed.

The Hokage let out a deep sigh, sorrow and weariness filling the sound as he dropped himself into his chair. “It will be a large gamble, Kakashi-kun.”

Kakashi nodded again, speaking quietly. “Hai, Hokage-sama, but sometimes in war you need to wager a large gamble if you wish to win. The spy will not come out for any paltry bait. We need to make the temptation worth the risk of them losing their place in our ranks.”

“I know, it can’t be helped,” the old man said, slumped in his chair, chin resting on his hands. In a moment he recovered himself, seeming to remember Kakashi was in the room. “Very well, you know what you need to do. Send in the others, we need to get this briefing finished.” Straightening his back, the Hokage pulled the papers back in front of him and gestured for Kakashi to leave.

Kakashi bowed low once more, a part of him glad he wasn’t in the old man’s position. Then, he turned and left, motioning to the waiting intel-nin so that they could reenter the room. He knew that they were making the right choice. They simply couldn’t afford to have a spy in their midst when the situation was already so dire. Still, as Kakashi left the makeshift head quarters, he couldn’t help but wonder if they had just made the first step in giving the enemy the key to Naruto.

**TBC…**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	11. Consequences

 

**CHAPTER 11: Consequences**

When Minato opened his front door that night, he almost thought that he’d entered a warzone. The front hall was a mess. Two trails of painted footprints led across the floor with crumpled paper scattered everywhere. Off to the side, he could see another, larger paint splatter leading out of view. Minato was almost scared to move farther into the house.

“What happened?” Minato asked the air, not expecting an answer but he got one anyway.

“Naruto was stuck in the house all day,” Kakashi’s bored voice came from just inside the sitting room.

Minato set the files he carried down on the side table in the hall and followed the voice into the sitting room. This room hadn’t fared much better, though Minato was relieved to see that the paint trail veered around the rug. Dirty clothes were scattered all across the room and half of the books from the bookshelf were on the floor. Kakashi stood by the bookshelf replacing the volumes.

“Welcome home, Sensei,” he said without looking up from the task.

“Naruto did all of this?” Minato asked, a little flabbergasted.

Kakashi shrugged, “Technically, Naruto’s traps did all of this, the rest was from Rin chasing him around the house trying to make him clean it up.”

For a moment Minato could only stare, then he shook his head. “I knew you said he was laying booby traps everywhere but I never imagined…”

“I know,” Kakashi rolled his one visible eye, “Kid has too much energy for his own good. I feel sorry for whoever ends up being his sensei.”

Picking up some of the scattered laundry, Minato sighed. “Probably because of the Kyūbi,” he muttered, half to himself. He tossed the shirt toward the door and started gathering up the other scattered clothes. “Though, keeping an eight year old indoors most of the time, doesn’t help much either.”

“Rin said you weren’t to do any cleaning,” Kakashi said, flipping through a book before he replaced it on the shelf. “She wants Naruto to clean up the majority of the mess.”

“So why are you putting away books?” Minato countered not stopping his laundry gathering.

Kakashi just looked at him. “It’ll take forever to get this place cleaned up otherwise.”

“Exactly,” Minato said, hefting up the pile of laundry and bringing it out to the hall. He dropped the pile in the washroom hamper and left to find his son.

Minato followed the colorful trail of footprints leading up the stairs, careful to stay out of the half dried paint. When he reached the top step he could hear voices coming from down the hall in an unused bedroom.

“This is dumb,” Naruto’s voice drifted out of the room in a whine.

“No,” Rin corrected, “what’s dumb is trashing the entire house, especially after it was finally looking nice again. Do you know how expensive that vase was?”

 Minato could just hear the constant rhythm of scrubbing coming from the room. It stopped as Naruto asked, “No, do you?”

“Well…not precisely, but it looked expensive,” Rin nearly growled, “Keep scrubbing, you have a lot of cleaning up to do and then you’re going to bed early.”

“Whaaaaat?” Naruto cried, “But I don’t want to go to bed early!”

“That’s exactly why it’s punishment,” Rin replied with a snap.

Naruto grumbled something too low for Minato to hear and the scrubbing continued. Minato stifled a chuckle, part of him was mad for coming home to the house half destroyed, but another part was feeling a bit nostalgic. Dealing with an over-energetic child was something he had looked forward to when Kushina was expecting. He knew from the amount of damage that he should be furious, but he couldn’t drag out his anger to that level. Perhaps the whole situation was too bittersweet to get truly upset… as long as it only happened once, he reminded himself.

Schooling his expression to something sterner, Minato pushed open the door, giving him a view of the two occupants. Rin was covered in paint and glitter, splotches quickly drying over her hair, clothes, and skin. She sat on a desk, keeping her feet out of the way as Naruto, also covered in paint though absent the glitter, scrubbed away at the colorful mess on the floor.

Rin looked up, eyes widening when she saw it was Minato. “S-sensei, I…didn’t realize you’d come home…”

Minato made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “It’s fine, Rin-chan. We’ll get the house cleaned up.”

Naruto’s head shot up, hope filling his expression. “It’s fine? So I don’t have to clean anymore?”

“No,” Minato corrected in a matter-of-fact-tone. “You made this mess so you’ll clean it up, it’s called consequences, Naruto-kun.”

“Neither of you are any fun,” Naruto grumbled, turning back to scrubbing away at the paint.

“Rin-chan, would you mind leaving us for a moment?” Minato asked, looking up to the medical-nin.

“Of course, Sensei,” Rin said, sliding off her perch and moving to the door. “I’ll order takeout since there’s not going to be any time to cook a real meal tonight.”

“Ramen!” Naruto cried, jumping up off the floor.

“We’ll get something healthy with lots of vegetables,” Rin replied in a firm voice before disappearing around the corner.

“I hate vegetables!” Naruto said to the empty doorway before dropping back down to the floor. “Man, you guys really are no fun!”

Minato had to fight a moment to keep the chuckle inside and firmly restore his stern expression. He crouched down so he was more level with Naruto on the floor. “Fun or not, you can’t pull pranks and make messes without expecting something like this to happen.”

Naruto only grumbled in response.

“Naruto-chan, look at me,” Minato said keeping his voice calm and patient.

Naruto reluctantly looked up from his scrubbing. His face was fixed with a pout, complete with frown and furrowed brows. It was the same face Minato had seen on several young academy students when they didn’t want to listen.

Fighting back a surge of both amusement and exasperation, Minato ignored the face and tried to explain the situation rationally. “Things are very busy right now with everything that’s happened. Rin and Kakashi are helping me out by looking after you while I’m away performing my duties. You should behave for them.”

“You’re the Hokage,” Naruto replied, sulking, “they have to do what you say.”

Minato tilted his head from side to side, half agreeing with the statement. “True to some extent, but a good leader has subordinates who do things for them because they _want_ to, not because they _have_ to.”

A large part of the sulk left Naruto’s face as he thought about that, though he still wore the frown. “But there’s nothing to do here!” he said, trying a different tactic. “I’m not supposed to go to town and I’m not at school, not that I’m complaining about that!” Naruto added quickly before finishing off with a shrug. “There’s just nothing to do.”

Minato nodded, settling himself down on the floor into a more comfortable position. “I know it’s strange right now, and when everything settles down you’ll be going back to school and that will fill up your day. Until then, though, you need to bear it. We’re shinobi, after all, that’s what we do.”

Naruto didn’t look convinced but he nodded his head anyway.

“You can still go outside to the yard, as long as there’s someone with you,” Minato said, trying to come up with suggestions, “and I’m sure either Rin or Kakashi would be willing to help you practice what you’ve learned at the academy so far. That way you won’t be so behind when you go back, but just promise me, no more pranks, alright?”

Naruto reluctantly nodded his head. “Alright…When will you be able to spend time with me again?” Naruto asked, looking sidelong at Minato.

Minato couldn’t deny the happy rush that washed through him knowing that Naruto wanted to spend time with him, even if he couldn’t give the best answer to the question. “When I get caught up with my work,” he answered as honestly as he could. “It’ll only be a few more days, and things should quiet down at the office, I’m sure of it.” At least, he hoped that it would. Strange, Minato used to pray for busy office days, now they were becoming obstacles to getting home and being with his son.

The thought made Minato wonder how he was going to tell Naruto he was the boy’s father. He had the entire day to ruminate on it and still didn’t have an answer. Looking down at his hands, Minato figured it was as good as any time, but he struggled to bring up the topic. He opened his mouth only to close it again, grappling with the right words to broach the subject.

In the meantime, Naruto only gave a half hearted shrug at Minato’s reassurances and returned to scrubbing the half-dried paint on the floor. He didn’t even notice Minato struggling to find words, the Hokage’s mouth opening and closing like a fish.

In fact, Naruto’s head never came up from his work until Rin’s voice called from nearby, “Sensei! Naruto-kun! Dinner!”

Naruto shot to his feet faster than Minato was able to register the call. “Yay! Food!” Naruto cried, dodging around Minato and out the door, brush and bucket abandoned where he left them in the middle of cleaning.

Minato grumbled to himself, annoyed that he had missed a perfectly good chance. Still, there would be another opportunity to discuss the issue, he just had to be ready for it. He couldn’t help laughing thinking about Naruto’s enthusiasm for dinner. Apparently, the boy had forgotten about Rin’s parting comment when she left for takeout.

Sure enough, a minute later as Minato descended the stairs Naruto’s scandalized voice came out of the kitchen. “Vegetables!? _Why_?”

* * *

Naruto woke up screaming. He shot bolt upright in bed, eyes wide and unseeing, shaking with tremors and drenched in a cold sweat. He barely had a chance to remember where he was when Minato burst into the room, several kunai in hand, ready for anything. Naruto dimly noticed the Hokage checking the room before putting the kunai away and moving to the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Minato asked, sitting down and pulling Naruto into his lap.

Naruto, still recovering from the nightmare only whimpered. There were so many emotions swirling around inside that he couldn’t make sense of them all. He was terrified from the dream, basically the same one he’d been having, and disoriented from the abrupt awakening. Confusion swept through him, making him dizzy. It only seemed to get worse as Minato held him close, rocking him back and forth as he did several nights ago. Part of Naruto was relieved that Minato was there and glad for the comfort, but as he looked up into the Hokage’s face another feeling from deep inside rose as well, vague but strong. It took several moments of grappling with it before Naruto recognized it.

It was anger.

It was a deep and inexplicable anger. More complicated than just plain anger, in truth, but Naruto was too confused to fully explore the depths of the emotion. He didn’t want to explore it, didn’t want it to be there at all. He didn’t understand why it had appeared since he couldn’t think of anything that had happened that would make him angry at Minato. Even if the Hokage had been busy for the last several days, Minato had been nicer, kinder than anyone he’d ever met before in his life, including Old-Man Sandaime. None of it made sense.

Shaking his head, Naruto pushed away from Minato and shuffled to the other side of the bed as he moved away from the source of at least some of his confusion. He grabbed his hair in both hands, curling himself into a ball trying to make it all to stop.

“Naruto?” Minato asked, worry evident in his voice.

Naruto felt a gentle hand land on his shoulder. The contact made him flinch and he struggled not to cry as he curled tighter into himself. He wanted to fling himself into Minato’s arms and let the man rock away the fear that clung to him from his dream, but he also wanted to attack the Hokage and act on the undefined anger bubbling up at hearing the man’s voice. Instead, he just shook his head trembling with each new breath he drew into his lungs.

“Please, Naruto, I want to help,” Minato said, sliding closer, the comforting hand still in place on Naruto’s shoulder.

“Just leave me alone!” Naruto cried, unable to take it anymore. He wanted the whirlwind inside of him to stop, all the confusing and conflicting emotions to just go away and leave him in peace. “Please leave me alone,” he begged again, the plea almost ending in a sob. His voice muffled by his arms.

The hand remained on his arm, but Naruto didn’t look at Minato. The air seemed thick and heavy around them, making Naruto feel worse. Maybe he had insulted Minato and now the man wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

“If you talk about it, I’m sure it will help,” Minato said once more, pleading in his voice as his hand squeezed Naruto’s arm. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Naruto only shook his head, violent jerks back and forth that rocked his whole body. He couldn’t tell Minato about the dream. It would mean admitting how they treated him in the other village, admitting that there was something wrong with him that made people hate him. What if Minato and Rin and Kakashi and the old Pervert decided that the villagers were right and wanted nothing to do with him? Naruto couldn’t take that chance.

Then there was the red mist. How could Naruto ever explain that to Minato? How could he explain how it hunted him in his dreams and even now felt like it was filling the room? He didn’t even understand it, how could he make someone else understand or believe him? Adults never listened when he told them anything, never cared, never believed. Even if he did somehow explain, and for some reason they did believe him, would they still want him? It would land him in the same position as explaining about the other village and how everyone there hated him.

Naruto shook his head again. He couldn’t do that, wouldn’t risk what he had gained in this new place. He could suffer through the nightmares at night. The daylight always made them go away, well, except for the red mist. That seemed to be clinging to him for longer periods of time. The constant half-thought in the back of his head was always there, also, but if he stayed busy and distracted himself from it then he would be fine.

“I’m fine,” Naruto repeated when Minato didn’t leave, “Really, I’m fine.” He tensed, waiting for the comforting warmth on his shoulder to leave.

It was several long minutes before Minato heaved a heavy sigh. “Alright,” he said, Naruto could hear the reluctance and sadness in his voice, “If that’s what you want, but if you need me I’m just down the hall.”

The hand withdrew even though Minato remained where he was sitting. Another few minutes, another sigh, and the pressure on the side of the bed let up as the Hokage moved to the door. Naruto didn’t shift from his position, didn’t look up as Minato stood in the doorway, but he listened still tense at the heavy atmosphere that filled the room.

“If you need anything at all,” Minato reminded him one last time before his footsteps padded out of the room.

Naruto could hear him mutter a few words, probably to Kakashi and Rin since they were the only other ones in the house. The door swung closed, stopping inches from the frame to let some of the hall light into the otherwise dark room. Naruto was grateful for the small amount of light as he flopped over and focused his gaze on the small sliver of hallway. He knew that he wouldn’t be getting back to sleep again. The tremors still ran down his arms and his heart still beat faster than normal. He didn’t know what time it was, but it was going to be another long wait till sunrise.

* * *

Naruto poked at his food, head propped up by his arm on the table. He didn’t feel like eating. He wasn’t particularly hungry. It was a strange experience, sitting at a table with food in front of him and not wanting any of it. Granted it wasn’t ramen and there were _vegetables_ in this food, but Rin was a pretty good cook when things came down to it. Normally, Naruto would happily devour almost anything set out for him, but today he just wasn’t feeling it.

Swallowing a huff, Naruto pushed the food around, piling it into little mounds before leveling them again. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, especially after the dream. He hadn’t wanted to go to sleep after that, _didn’t_ go back to sleep. Now, he was exhausted. Rin seemed to realize that he was tired since she didn’t comment on his lack of eating or his playing with his food. However, she did send several pointed looks in his direction. Kakashi didn’t seem to notice anything, face buried in his book as always.

The meal was quiet, more so than what had been the norm since he’d arrived in the different Konoha. Naruto supposed that it was partly his fault. Rin still seemed a little annoyed at him for destroying half the house the day before and they’d only just gotten the remaining mess cleaned up right before lunch. She’d been in a grumpy mood all day. _He’d_ been in a grumpy mood all day, from the sleepless night to the restlessness that seemed to fill him. He couldn’t quite explain it. He was so tired, too exhausted to put on his usually smiling face, but he couldn’t sit still either. He had to go somewhere, do something, but he didn’t know what. He tried sitting down and drawing like Kakashi suggested, but he couldn’t concentrate and Kakashi just ended up taking the pictures away after patting him on the head.

Drawing was boring anyway. Naruto was sick of it.

Rin tried to teach him some drills, but those involved sitting down and Naruto couldn’t make himself sit down. He ended up wandering around, but apparently his two guardians didn’t trust him not to cause trouble and at least one followed wherever he went. Kakashi finally got tired of his endless wandering around the house and sent him to the back yard to practice kata until lunch.

Now, lunch was almost over, though, and Naruto still didn’t know what he wanted to do. He got up from the table bringing his dishes over to the sink where Kakashi was taking his turn washing them.

“Naruto-kun,” Rin said bringing her own plate over, “Why don’t you take a nap? You’ve been tired all day.”

The thought of going to sleep made Naruto’s insides shrivel into themselves. He shook his head, desperately hoping that they didn’t make him. “I’m not tired,” he said, denying his drooping eyes and the yawn that forced itself out of him only minutes before. No, even if they put him in a room and told him specifically to sleep he wouldn’t so much as close his eyes.

Rin didn’t look convinced and opened her mouth to say something but she was interrupted by the front door opening and hurried footsteps. She moved out into the hall, Naruto following behind curious. In the front hall, they caught sight of Minato halfway up the stairs.

“Sensei, is everything alright?” Rin asked, dishes still in her hands.

Minato stopped, reversing his forward momentum to turn back and look at them. “There’s been an accident,” he said breathlessly before turning and running up the rest of the stairs. His voice floated down as he continued to explain. “A sealing jutsu got out of hand. I have to get to the training grounds and try to reverse it, but first I need some of my notes.”

There were a few bumps from upstairs, then a crash and a muffled curse that made Rin glance from the ceiling to Naruto with disapproval. Then, suddenly it was quite.

“I guess he headed right there,” Rin said with a final glance to the ceiling. “I hope no one was hurt,” she murmured and turned back to the kitchen.

Naruto turned to follow her, but she stopped him. “Naruto-kun, why don’t you go upstairs and take a nap for an hour or so. You’ve been quiet all day. I’m sure you’ll feel better after some rest.”

“But I’m not tired!” Naruto whined, even as Rin turned him around and gave him a slight push towards the stairs.

“Yes, you are,” she said with a huff before she turned and disappeared into the kitchen.

Naruto grumbled to himself, making sure to take a long time dragging his feet up the stairs. He didn’t care what anyone said. He wasn’t tired and he wasn’t going to take a nap. It didn’t matter if the last several nights he’d woken up and hadn’t gone back to sleep. He was too old for naps, for one, and he wasn’t going to put himself through anymore nightmares, for two. He’d find something else to do.

As he reached the top of the stairs, Naruto saw something he hadn’t seen since first arriving to the house. The door to Minato’s office was unlocked and open. Naruto froze, one foot on the second floor and the other still on the top stair. For a moment, he didn’t do anything, just stared at the forbidden room. He glanced back down the stairs where he could hear the soft clatter of dishes and running water mingled in with muted conversation. No one would be coming to look for him for a while. They thought he was taking a nap.

Turning back to the door, a wide Cheshire-cat grin spread over Naruto’s face. He knew exactly what he was going to do for the next hour.

* * *

Minato didn’t get home as early as he had wanted thanks to the interruption of the training accident. One of the chūnins trying to teach themselves a complicated sealing jutsu made an error landing both themselves and a teammate in the hospital. It took the better part of an hour to sort out the mess the jutsu had made and then the rest of the afternoon to figure out exactly what had gone wrong and treat the two injured.

By the time Minato dragged his tired feet through the door, dinner was half over. Rin, Kakashi, and Naruto were already finishing their own meals and beginning to clean up with Rin directing a reluctant Naruto to help with the dishes. Kakashi disappeared perhaps to do a perimeter check but more likely to read his book. Minato finished his own meal quickly and headed up to his office to return the notes that he had taken out earlier in the day and hoping to get a few more things taken care of before spending some time with Naruto.

Opening the door and stepping inside, Minato barely registered the fact that it was unlocked before he had to dodge out of the way as a series of objects few toward his head. Already tired from a day of work and acting on training, he transported himself to the other end of the room and threw two kunai at the objects, skewering two large pillows to the wall. Feathers flew out of the eviscerated pillows and slowly drifted down to the floor along with a series of streamers and crumpled paper that had also been rigged to fall.

For a moment Minato stared, unsure what the trap was doing there in his supposedly secure office. It was clearly a prank, but neither Kakashi nor Rin would ever prank his office and they were the only ones with access to the room that had been at the house. Thinking back to the last time he had left his office, he realized that he’d been in a rush to get to the training grounds and the site of the accident. Unused to having to lock the room in the first place, he’d forgotten to secure it. That left one other possibility, Naruto.

Naruto had set up the prank even after Minato had asked him not to rig any other traps. More importantly than that, Naruto had come into his office even though Minato had specifically told him not to enter the room. Minato felt his temper, already short from the hectic day and seeing two young ninjas be hospitalized because of a reckless idea, snap. He marched back to the door and flung it open to its widest.

“Naruto! Up here now,” Minato called. He heard the anger and frustration in his own voice even as he yelled down to the first floor and paced back into the room, counting to ten in an attempt to calm himself a little before Naruto arrived. When that didn’t work he counted to ten again.

A noise alerted him to Naruto’s presence and he spun around facing the door. Naruto looked unsurprised, but not as though he was feeling guilty in any way. Minato motioned for Naruto to enter the room and gestured to the two pillows pinned to the wall.

“Care to explain those?” Minato asked, carefully controlling his tone from his initial shout calling Naruto up to the office.

“You found my trap!” Naruto grinned, “And it looks like you beat it, too! You must be really fast!”

The carefree attitude only angered Minato more, the irony of which wasn’t lost to him. Only yesterday, Naruto had booby trapped the entire house and Minato hadn’t even really scolded him for it. Today, Naruto set only one trap and Minato was furious. Perhaps it was dealing with the two injured chūnin, only five years older than Naruto, who had almost killed themselves by going against what they were told in combination with Naruto directly going against the rules and entering the office. Perhaps it was Minato’s anger toward himself for forgetting to lock his office which held more dangerous jutsu, substances, and weapons than he could count and that he would never trust within reach of an eight year old. Whatever it was, this time Minato wasn’t willing to chuckle off the transgression as the mere prank of a bored child. He tried to reign in his anger, though, even through the flashes of what could have happened if his son had gotten into the wrong thing while in the office alone.

“Do you remember what I said about my office when you first came here?” Minato asked, his voice tight and low.

Naruto picked up on the anger and shrunk down into himself a little, the grin falling off his face as he searched back in his memory. “That I wasn’t supposed to come in here?”

“Exactly,” Minato said, “and do you remember what I told you yesterday?”

Naruto ducked down a little more, hands fiddling with each other as he answered in an even lower voice. “That I wasn’t to lay any more traps in the house?”

“Now care to explain to me why there’s a trap waiting for me in my office?” Minato said arms crossed over his shoulders. It was hard to stay mad at Naruto with him looking up through his blond hair with those blue eyes, but every time Minato felt his temper wane he thought of what could have happened, bringing his son back to the hospital for some reason and it surged again.

Naruto didn’t answer. He didn’t look around at the mess of feathers and he didn’t look up at Minato’s face, opting instead to stare down at Minato’s knees, and bringing one hand up to the back of his neck.

“It’s just a prank,” Naruto finally said, his voice sullen, “What’s the big deal? Nobody got hurt, it wasn’t even dangerous!”

“That’s not the point!” Minato snapped, before taking another deep breath. When he spoke next his voice was calmer, more measured, “I told you not to lay anymore traps, but you did it anyway. I told you not to come into my office, but you came in at the first chance you saw. If I tell you to do or not do something you need to follow my directions. We don’t have time to be constantly cleaning up and making sure that you’re not causing some kind of trouble.”

Silence was the only thing that met Minato’s statement. It hung heavy in the air as Naruto continued to scowl at Minato’s knees.

“Why did you do it?” Minato asked again, frustrated at Naruto for not answering and at himself for losing his temper.

“I’m _bored_!” Naruto cried throwing up his hands, anger flaring suddenly. “What _else_ am I supposed to do? You’re gone all the time and you’re only going to send me back anyway so what’s the big deal! If I’m so much of a _bother_ to you send me back now! I don’t care.” By the end, Naruto was yelling, his fists clenched in front of him and trembling with emotion. He crossed his arms over his chest with a jerk and turned his glare to the floor.

Minato didn’t know how to react at first. The thought that Naruto would want to go back was like a punch in the stomach. It didn’t matter if Minato didn’t know how to send Naruto back and by default the boy had to stay with him. If Naruto _wanted_ to go back, even with the way his village probably treated him…Minato didn’t know if he could handle that.

Looking at his son, though, the angry but sorrowful glare, the set face forcefully holding back tears, the trembling fists jammed under his arms to keep them still, Minato knew Naruto didn’t really want to go back to the other Konoha. The boy was upset and angry, partly with just cause, Minato reminded himself thinking of all the time he’d spent away in the past few days. If it had been someone else’s child that fell through the mirror it might have been different, but this was _Naruto_ , Minato’s _son_ , and Minato wanted his son to be happy and cared for, not just by babysitters but by Minato himself.

Bending down on one knee, so he was level with Naruto, Minato put a hand out on Naruto’s soft blond hair. He pushed it back, bringing the blue eyes so like his own up to look at him. Even then, Naruto’s eyes didn’t rest on Minato but stared past him at some point over his shoulder “You’re not a bother, Naruto, and… I don’t want to send you back. I want you to stay here.”

Naruto looked at Minato then. His eyes shifted over to Minato’s mirroring blue gaze, a look of surprise bordering on suspicion filling in where the anger had been. “You want me to stay? Forever?”

“Yes, forever,” Minato said.

“Why?” Naruto breathed, eyes wide.

_Say it_ , Minato yelled at himself, _stop being a damned coward and just say it_. “I want you to stay, because…You know how we said before that some people were dead in this world but alive in your world? And the other way around, as well?” Naruto nodded, confusion joining in with the shock. Minato put both his hand on either of Naruto’s shoulders. “Well, in this world, I had a son who died at birth and…his name was Naruto.”

Naruto’s eyes had grown to an impossible size. His mouth dropped open and he seemed to be struggling with what Minato was saying.

“In your world, your father died, but here it happened the other way round-” Minato stopped himself, he was making this too complicated. “What I mean is… I’m your father if he had survived, and you’re my son if my Naruto had survived.”

Naruto still stared at him with that same wide eyed amazement. His mouth worked up and down a few times before his eyes dropped to the floor, a confused frown taking residence on his face. “My dad?...But…it’s been days…why didn’t you tell me right away? Why have you been gone so much?”

Minato sighed, scrubbing his face with a hand. He hooked his other arm around Naruto and led them both to a seat, pushing a few scrolls down to the floor to free up the small couch set against one wall. “It’s… complicated,” Minato finally said, thinking of all the reasons and excuses that he made previously to avoid telling Naruto. They seemed so weak now, even though he knew some of them were still valid. In the end, he guessed a large part of him had just been afraid. “Our situation is very complicated,” Minato repeated, not wanting to wade through the convoluted circumstances that had led to this moment. He was still working through parts of it himself and he doubted Naruto would understand most of it. “But I’m telling you now, because I want you to know and I want you to stay… Do you want to stay?”

Naruto looked startled by the question but nodded, a fervent and almost desperate gesture. Minato couldn’t help himself, he pulled Naruto into a bone crushing hug feeling the small arms slip around him after a brief hesitation.

“Are you really my dad?” Naruto asked, his voice muffled against Minato’s hokage jacket.

“Yes,” Minato said, burying his face into Naruto’s soft hair, “In every way that matters.” In his arms, Naruto shuddered, drawing in a breath before letting it out in a half sob. He tightened his hug, relishing the moment. It was worth any trouble that they gained later on from either village. “I know this has been hard for you and I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you as much as I’ve wanted to, but I have responsibilities to the village, too. I can’t ignore those just because I want to spend all my time with you.” He felt Naruto nod into his chest.

“You’re the Hokage, after all,” Naruto mumbled, but there was a note of pride even apparent in the shaky voice that hadn’t been there before. “But it’s so boring here, even with Kakashi and Rin. It’s not the same.”

“I know,” Minato repeated, wishing he could help. An idea struck him, though he doubted Kakashi or Rin would be very happy about it. “After we get everything straightened out you’ll be able to go back to school.” This only elicited a moan from Naruto. Minato huffed a soft laugh. “What if I let you pull one prank a day? But it has to be a good one.”

“But I thought after the mess I made I wasn’t supposed to be doing that anymore?” Naruto asked, shifting to peer up at Minato with one eye.

“Fat lot of good that rule did,” Minato muttered rolling his eyes. “I know we said that, but one prank is alright, I suppose, so long as it’s not _too_ destructive,” he quickly amended. Now that Minato thought about it, it would be good practice for setting traps. “And you have to stay out of the forbidden areas alright? _Especially_ my office.”

“But the door was unlocked,” Naruto’s tone wasn’t defiant anymore as he defended himself.

“I don’t care if the door is wide open,” Minato said, pulling away to fully look down at his son. “There are dangerous and sensitive things in here, you could get yourself hurt by coming in here without someone with you. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

Naruto stared at him with that same amazed expression. It reminded Minato of Kushina so much and it hurt knowing it was there because of the life Naruto had led, just like Kushina. In many ways, Minato reflected, in getting his son back he was getting a piece of his wife back, as well. He couldn’t help but smile at that thought, receiving a wide happy smile in return.

"So only one prank a day?" Minato asked. He wanted Naruto to agree instead of just taking for granted that the boy would listen to him. "Nothing too destructive and no going into out of bounds areas."

Naruto looked at him with speculation, thinking it over. "You have to come home for lunch and dinner every day."

Minato was glad that they were alone in the room. He was negotiating with an eight year old, a Hokage negotiating with his eight year old son to behave while he was away at work. It was embarrassing and made him want to either laugh at the absurdity or growl in frustration. He wasn't sure which. "Alright, I'll be home for lunch and dinner unless there’s an emergency. Then, I have to take care of whatever it is no matter when or how long it takes.”

Naruto chewed his bottomed lip for a moment as Minato said this. “But if it’s just paperwork you have to come home.”

Minato huffed a laugh, wearily nodding in concession. “If it’s just paperwork, I’ll come home and when I do you can tell me about the prank you pulled.” Minato had a stroke of genius at that moment, well, genius or insanity. “Try and catch Kakashi in one of your traps. He’ll be a good challenge so you’ll have to plan and set it carefully.”

Hopefully, Naruto would spend a large part of his time trying to devise ways of catching Kakashi in a trap and the planning phase would help give him something to do. That or Minato had only countered a fire jutsu with a wind.

The clock chimed the hour, making Minato look up at the time. It was getting late and they both needed to go to bed. Naruto especially looked tired with growing dark shadows under his eyes. He glanced around the mess of his office. Part of him wanted Naruto to clean up the mess for punishment, but it would be safer to just do it himself and he didn’t want to encourage Naruto coming into the office any more. The mess could wait the night.

“C’mon,” Minato said, standing up and pulling Naruto to his feet as well. “It’s bed time.”

Naruto groaned as Minato ushered him out the door, closing it firmly behind the both of them this time.

“You are in no position to complain about anything. I’m still debating what your punishment will be,” Minato said continuing to steer his son down the hallway.

“I hate bedtime,” Naruto grumbled, and Minato could hear the underlying statement there, unsaid but clear. What the boy really hated was the nightmares and Minato silently agreed.

* * *

Minato woke up to blood curdling screams. It took him a split second to orientate himself and disentangle his consciousness from memory and dreams. No, he was not on the battlefield of some shinobi war. He was in his house and those screams belonged to Naruto.

Naruto’s nightmares had been getting worse. Minato wasn’t sure what caused them. Besides that one time in his office, Naruto refused to talk about them. He didn’t even let Minato comfort him anymore after that one time several nights ago. However frustrating it had been, Minato tried to respect Naruto’s wishes, but hearing those awful screams even louder than the screams the previous night was the final straw. They had to deal with these nightmares, one way or another.

Concentrating on the seal marker he had placed in Naruto’s room earlier in the day, Minato flashed himself into Naruto’s room, determined to stay until he found the cause for the nightmares. He didn’t need to wait long. As soon as he landed in the bedroom he could feel the concentrated malice and power, like a physical pressure bearing down on him. It was same power that he’d felt eight years before on that horrible night. Looking wildly around, Minato found the source, a dense cloud of red chakra, the Kyūbi’s chakra, circling around Naruto.

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter yet. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


	12. Revelations

 

**CHAPTER 12: Revelations**

For a moment, Minato was frozen in horror as he stared at his son, thrashing within the cloud of malevolent chakra. A memory from the last time he’d encountered that same chakra tried to crash in on him and overlay itself on the real world, but Minato pushed it back with fierce determination. Behind him the door was thrown open and he heard Kakashi gasp. “Sensei! The Kyūbi’s-”

“I know,” Minato called back, searching for a way to get close to his son. “Get some chakra suppressors from my office!” He didn’t have to look to know Kakashi had already gone.

The chakra around Naruto lashed out toward Minato, making him throw his arms in front of him and step back. The power still burned, searing his sleeves and tingeing the skin. “Naruto!” he yelled, trying to break through whatever nightmare his son was trapped in and capture the boy’s attention.

Naruto didn’t hear him though, didn’t seem to register anything that was happening around him. From the side, Rin slowly circled around trying to find a way to get closer to the bed and the thrashing boy, but Minato already knew it would be useless. The Kyūbi’s chakra filled up the space, just being in the room Minato could feel the prickle and sting against his skin. Around the bed the chakra was even thicker, visible in red swirling wisps of power like fog or mist. If they wanted to get anywhere near the bed safely, they needed to suppress the chakra.

Still, even knowing this, Minato couldn’t help but edge closer hoping against reason that he could find a way to get to his son. The chakra was painful to him and he was at the fringe of it. Naruto was at the very center. Who knew what such dangerous power was doing to his son!

Kakashi appeared again, probably after only a few moments though it felt like longer. He had a stack of chakra suppressors in his hand and didn’t hesitate before slapping one on the wall. The malevolent pressure around the seal lifted immediately and Minato breathed a little easier, but it did nothing for the chakra surrounding Naruto.

Without stopping to think, Minato grabbed the seals from Kakashi, spilling half of them on the floor in his haste. He dove into the red chakra surrounding his son, gritting his teeth against the burning pain that seared through his arms. Minato slapped a seal on the first part of Naruto he could reach, wrapping the paper haphazardly around a captured arm. Then, he placed more seals on Naruto’s stomach and the surrounding bed.

The Kyūbi's chakra immediately started dissipating with the seals in place. Naruto shot up eyes snapping open and gasping for breath as a scream died on his lips. Minato caught his shoulders, holding firm despite Naruto’s frantic struggles against the hold and not even feeling the pain in his burned hands. One look at the boy's unfocused eyes told Minato that Naruto was still half asleep.

"No!" Naruto yelled, shaking his shoulders and throwing his arms around blindly, "Get away!"

"Naruto!" Minato said, gasping as the boy twisted out of his grip. He recaptured Naruto's shoulders again, sucking in a breath as the pain in his hands registered. Glancing down, his hands were burned raw in a waving pattern across his hands and up his arms. Minato pushed back the mounting pain, though, and focused on his son. "Naruto! Wake up, you're dreaming!"

"Wha-?" Naruto stopped struggling, looking around with wide blinking eyes. His chest heaved and soft whimpers came out with each breath. He looked up at Minato and something seemed to break in his expression. He dissolved into tears throwing himself at Minato's chest. "I-it was e-everywhere!" Naruto wailed, stuttering with each heaving sob. "And I t-tried to r-run, but c-couldn't-"

"Shh," Minato hushed, rocking his son back and forth in a tight hug. He turned worried eyes on Kakashi and Rin as Naruto's sobs turned any words the boy managed into jumbled garbles. Rin was pale, one hand distractedly treating a burn she had on her forearm. Kakashi watched Naruto with an analytical gaze, worried but already trying to unravel what just happened. Minato looked at the other two and nodded toward the doors, silently asking they leave.

"Sensei, your arms," Rin hesitated, looking with concern at Minato's burns. No doubt she knew from her own burn that it wasn't an ordinary wound. Minato could feel the pain creeping up from the wounds like they were tainted with poison in addition to the burns. He was glad for his high pain tolerance born from many serious injuries and the lingering trace of adrenaline still in his system. They would hold him over till Naruto was looked after.

Kakashi grasped her arm pulling her toward the door. "We can go get Tsunade-sama. She can help sensei and check Naruto."

Rin nodded her agreement and left the room, leaving the door open as they went. Minato turned from the empty doorway and refocused his attention on the bundle in his arms. Naruto didn’t seem to notice the others depart. He was too busy sobbing into Minato’s chest.

Minato’s heart ached, but he was glad Naruto was finally letting out whatever had been bothering him. The shadows under Naruto’s eyes had only gotten darker over the last couple days and the nightmares had gotten worse, for good reason it seemed, Minato reflected thinking back on the wreath of Kyūbi chakra that surrounded Naruto. Something had to give and it looked like it was Naruto’s determination to hold it all in like the previous nights when Minato or the others woke or checked on him after bad dreams.

They sat together on the bed, Naruto wrapped in Minato’s arms and Minato rocking him till the crying subsided and the boy grew heavy with drowsiness. Naruto wouldn’t let himself fall asleep, though. Minato could tell he was keeping himself on just the waking side of consciousness.

“You need to tell me about your dreams,” Minato said in a low, sympathetic voice, “I know they’re frightening but you need to trust me.”

Unlike the previous nights when Minato had made the same request, Naruto hesitated. He looked up at Minato, the internal struggle visible in his eyes.

“It’s alright, everyone has nightmares. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Minato was grasping at straws now, trying to find something to draw Naruto out of his shell.

Naruto didn’t speak, but he didn’t pull away either.

The pregnant silence was broken when Rin appeared at the door. She looked at them for a moment, hesitating before speaking. “Tsunade-sama is here.”

Minato glanced up, tearing his eyes away from Naruto. He nodded lifting Naruto and setting him on the floor before standing up after him. With a gentle hand, Minato steered Naruto out into the hall. “C’mon, this will be quick.”

Tsunade was waiting down in the sitting room, her clothes disheveled and the stale smell of sake clinging to her like perfume. Despite the tell-tale signs of a night spent in one of the local bars, her eyes were bright and alert, latching onto Naruto as soon as the boy entered the room.

“Alright,” Tsunade said, her voice quieter than normal. Minato briefly wondered if it was because of the situation or if the medical-nin was hung over. Though Tsunade wasn’t necessarily bad with patients, her bedside manner wasn’t usually one of her more redeeming qualities. “Sit up here.” She pulled the table out from the wall and lifted Naruto up onto it.

“I don’t see why I need an exam,” Naruto grumbled, starting to sound like himself.

“Hush,” Tsunade responded, but she wasn’t looking at Naruto anymore. Her eyes were on Minato’s arms, red with burns. She looked up to Minato with a frown that turned into a scowl when Minato shook off her concern and instead moved to Naruto’s other side.

Huffing in exasperation, Tsunade turned back to the grumbling Naruto and placed a glowing hand on Naruto’s back. Her expression faded into a concentrated frown as she ran her scan. Her hand moved slowly down to the small of Naruto’s back where it stopped and Tsunade’s frown became more pronounced.

“Naruto-kun, take of your night shirt for me, will you?” Tsunade said in a level tone. Naruto complied, the sat with his arms crossed over his chest, eyes mildly glaring at the distant wall. “Now lie down,” Tsunade directed again. With a huff, Naruto laid back on the table.

Tsunade placed both glowing hands on Naruto’s stomach, right over where Minato knew the seal would be if it was visible. Minato’s hands twitched at his sides, the burning pain in them growing more pronounced and spreading with each passing minute. He watched the medic-nin’s hands as she gently probed Naruto’s stomach before flicking his gaze up to her serious face.

After a moment, Tsunade’s eyes caught Minato’s and she gave a significant look down to Naruto’s stomach, removing her hands as she did so. Taking the nonverbal invitation and fighting back a grimace from the pain, Minato placed his own glowing hands where Tsunade’s had been a moment ago. He wasn’t a medical ninja, but considering the location was the exact place where Naruto’s seal lay, he assumed Tsunade wanted him to look at that specifically. Gently probing with his chakra, as much to accommodate the pain in his arms as to be gentle with Naruto, he ran over the state of the seal and demon fox it imprisoned. Within moments Minato realized what Tsunade wanted him see.

The Kyūbi’s power behind the seal had grown.

Brow furrowed in a worried frown, Minato looked up to Tsunade. When he first checked the seal, the Kyūbi’s power had only been half as much as the demon fox originally possessed. Now, the power inside Naruto was noticeably larger. Tsunade leveled a knowing look at him, before flicking her head to the door.

Minato nodded and straightened from his bent position. He looked to Rin. “Why don’t you take Naruto to the kitchen and get him a snack. I’m sure some ramen will help calm some nerves after that nightmare.”

“Yeah!” Naruto quickly agreed, smile blossoming over his face and sounding almost normal again. He jumped off the table, as eager to get away from any more medical examinations as to get to his ramen. He ran up and grabbed Rin’s hand, dragging her to the door with Kakashi trailing behind and stuffing the extra chakra suppressant seals in his pocket. “You heard him! He said I could have ramen, now you can’t say no!”

Minato eased out some of his growing tension with a sigh. At least, Naruto seemed to be getting over the fright from the nightmare. The relief was only minor, though considering what he found behind Naruto’s seal. A hand clamped down on his shoulder and Minato found himself being firmly steered by Tsunade to the table.

“Up,” Tsunade commanded jerking a thumb to the table.

Minato scoffed. “What?”

“You’re injured, much more than the brat was, unless you _want_ to leave those burns on your arms to themselves.” Tsunade crossed her arms and leveled a look at Minato that never failed to make him feel like a genin being chastised for a rookie mistake.

Glaring at nothing in particular Minato carefully lifted himself onto the table. “Treating me like a child,” he grumbled under his breath wincing at the pain in his arms.

“You and Naruto have an uncanny resemblance, you know that?” Tsunade said rolling her eyes. She reached out and took Minato’s hand, drawing it out to look at the burn marks. “I examined Rin’s burn before the two of you came down. The Kyūbi’s chakra seems to act like a poison. It seeps into the system after contact. These burns will be more painful and take much longer to heal than a normal injury.” Tsunade ran her glowing hands down Minato’s arms, a frown of concentration on her face. “It’s amazing that kid of yours can stand having that chakra in his system.”

“He’s had to live with it his whole life,” Minato said quietly as a wave of regret washing through him.

There was a moment of silence before Tsunade spoke again. “You saw it then?”

Minato straightened where he sat. “Of course I did,” he almost snapped, head jerking up. He glanced back down pushing back the lingering self-recrimination with a shake of the head. “It would be hard to miss,” he said in a more even tone.

Tsunade didn’t seem to notice Minato’s initial tone, or perhaps she understood. “You probably could tell more than I could. It’s your seal, your work, after all.”

Minato shrugged earning himself a disapproving glare from the moment. He winced as a flare of pain shot through his arm before fading again. Tsunade was being thorough with her healing and already he could feel an improvement to his arms, but the pain was still there, waiting to rise again at the slightest provocation. “Your medical ninjutsu is enough to tell you the important thing. The Kyūbi’s power is increasing.”

“Any ideas why?” Tsunade asked.

Minato thought about it a moment, eyes raking over the rippled burn pattern on his arm Tsunade was holding. This possibility hadn’t occurred to him, but now that he thought about it, it seemed almost inevitable. “The Kyūbi here was never sealed into a jinchūricki,” Minato said slowly, checking his theory over silently for flaws. “Kushina dragged it down with her when she died.”

“But you can’t kill a tailed beast,” Tsunade said.

Shaking his head, Minato agreed. “No, but they will… dissipate for a time, disappear until they reconstitute in this world. The Kyūbi’s chakra is still out there, it’s just not concentrated into the solid form of the Demon Fox. Now there’s a sizeable concentration of the Kyūbi’s chakra for it to gravitate toward.”

“Naruto,” Tsunade finished for him. Her tone was exasperated but with underlying worry. “Won’t the seal protect him?”

Minato only half heard her, but he was already considering that problem and answered in a thoughtful tone a moment later. “The seal is designed to allow chakra to seep out in case he needs to use it. It may be possible for the chakra to seep back in as well. The Kyūbi’s chakra is so corrosive, and the seal was only meant to hold in half the Kyūbi’s power. If this continues, then Naruto will have far more than the full power of the Kyūbi inside him.”

Minato brought up one hand to fitfully rub at his forehead. He stopped when Tsunade halted the motion, wincing at the painful sting running through his hand. He could only spare half his attention for it and the admonition from Tsunade to not touch anything. She reached down into her bag and pulled out a jar of salve and roll of bandages, but he barely registered the movement. He was too caught up in the new problem confronting him and his son.

The Kyūbi’s chakra had no substance, it wasn’t even visible unless in high quantities. Walls wouldn’t protect Naruto. The only thing they could do was place seals around the house to block out the demon chakra, but that was hardly a permanent solution. Naruto wouldn’t be able to leave the protective walls of the building, a virtual prisoner. Still, until they could find another way to solve the problem it would have to do.

“There wasn’t any obvious physical problems that I could find,” Tsunade said after a long pause as Minato was weighing everything in his mind. She had finished applying slave to the burns and was almost done wrapping bandages down each arm. “Besides the fatigue and still being underweight, he’s fine physically.”

“Naruto’s been having nightmares, increasingly bad nightmares,” Minato said almost to himself. He looked down at his right hand, now completely bandaged and feeling much better even with the phantom pain lingering just below the surface.

“Well, it seems fairly obvious what’s causing them,” Tsunade said, wrapping a layer of bandages over Minato’s fingers. “The Kyūbi’s chakra is filled with negative emotion. It’s just as likely that he would have non-physical side effects as well after being bombarded by such a large amount of the stuff.”

Minato nodded absently, furrowed gaze sliding to the doorway as he thought about Naruto’s behavior the past couple of days. The quick temper and restlessness, it could all have a plausible, normal explanation, but he knew there was something more to it. Minato felt a stab of regret for spending so much time in the office. If he hadn’t he would have more firsthand observations instead of having to rely on Rin and Kakashi.

When Tsunade finished with the last bandage, Minato slid himself off the table without permission. He still had to be gentle with his hands, but they were much better.

“I’m not finished with you yet,” Tsunade grumbled as Minato moved to the door.

Minato paused in the doorway, looking toward the kitchen where he could hear soft voices drifting out from lightened room into the dark hall. “I’m going to talk to my son,” he said before stepping out of the room, and this time Naruto was going to tell him everything.

* * *

Naruto grinned into the half eaten bowl of ramen, his second for the night. Rin seemed a little more open to indulging him tonight and he wasn’t going to waste that opportunity. The dream was already almost completely faded away, dissolved in the bright kitchen with a warm bowl of ramen before him and two friendly people on either side of him. Naruto would be happy to spend the rest of the night in the kitchen even if he didn’t get a wink more of sleep. He certainly didn’t want to go back to a dark bed room alone and be revisited by the night terror.

His eating slowed a moment as Naruto briefly remembered the dream. It had been the worse yet, almost physically painful. He pushed the thought back before it could take hold again and cast about for something, anything else on which to refocus. Minato pulling him from the dream came to mind and from there he went to the conversation earlier in the evening.

Naruto stopped eating entirely as he stared into the bowl. The ripples in the soup slowly stilled as he held his chopsticks suspended over it, trying to sort out the confused mess of emotions inside of him.

“Hey, Rin-san,” Naruto started still staring into his bowl with a furrowed expression.

“Yes, Naruto-kun?” Rin said, Naruto could hear worry in her voice, the same touch of worry that had convinced her to give him seconds for ramen. “Is something wrong?”

“Is Minato really my dad?” Naruto asked. Minato said he was and Naruto believed him, he really did, but a part of him still needed some kind of confirmation.

Rin and Kakashi both paused, Rin halfway through sipping her tea and Kakashi in the midst of turning a page. They glanced at each other over Naruto’s head before Rin finished her sip and set her cup down and Kakashi leaned back from his book.

“Of course he is,” Rin said, sounding a little at a loss from the question. “He told you himself last night, didn’t he?”

Naruto ducked his head a little embarrassed by Rin’s incredulous tone. “I know…it’s just…”

“Hard to believe?” Kakashi filled in after a moment of silence. “Too good to be true, maybe?”

Naruto nodded, staring at Kakashi in surprise. That was exactly how he felt. He’d gone for so long without parents and family in a place where everyone seemed to hate him. Now, he found himself in a place where people didn’t hate him. More importantly, he was with his hero, the Yondaime, savior of the village who suddenly turned out to be his father. It was like a dream. It was much too good to be true.

“Waiting for the other shoe to drop?” Kakashi asked, once again knowing exactly what was going through Naruto’s head.

That other shoe was exactly what Naruto was waiting for, even if he hadn’t realized it at first. He knew he would be able to handle it, whatever it was, as long as he knew what to expect. It was the waiting to find out, the uncertainty that was killing him.

“Don’t worry, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said, turning back to his book as he leaned his chair back on two legs, “Minato’s not going anywhere and you’re not going anywhere. You’re eight, complications aren’t something you should be concerning yourself with. If there is another shoe Minato will take care of it when it drops. That’s what parents do.”

Footsteps made the three sitting around the table to turn as Minato appeared in the doorway. The blond man smiled at the group as he came in the room. “Feeling better?” he asked looking at Naruto.

Naruto barely heard the question. He was staring at Minato’s bandaged hands, a sick feeling growing in his stomach that he couldn’t explain.

“Of course he’s feeling better,” Rin cut into the awkward silence after Naruto failed to answer. “He’s finally eating his precious ramen.” The lightness in her tone, though clearly forced, helped the whole room.

Naruto felt the tension in his stomach ease just a little and Minato sent an appreciative smile to the medic-nin.

“Well, I want to ask Tsunade-sama something before she leaves,” Rin commented as she stood from the table and placed her cup in the sink.

Kakashi didn’t bother making an excuse as he let his chair fall back down to the floor with a clatter, rose from the table, and followed Rin from the room. He paused by Minato and the two exchanged a few whispered words. Then, Kakashi left and it was just Minato and Naruto in the quiet kitchen.

Naruto turned back to his ramen. He had a feeling the coming talk was going to be about his dream and he really didn’t want to go into it. Picking up his chopsticks again, he stirred them around in his ramen soup and listened to Minato’s footsteps as the man first went to the cupboard, retrieved a mug, then moved to the table sitting in the chair next to Naruto’s. Naruto didn’t look up to Minato. He started to, but his eyes faltered and stopped at the bandages. He watched the injured hands as they went about pouring the tea Rin left in her teapot into an old chipped cup. Speckles of red bled through the white strips around the knuckles and other points along the arm.

“What happened to your arms?” Naruto blurted out, unable to keep the question or the queasiness at bay much longer.

Minato stilled a moment then set the teapot to the side and took a sip of the steaming drink. Naruto followed the hand up to Minato’s face and forced his gaze to stay there so he wouldn’t have to look at the bandages anymore. He hoped it wasn’t his fault, whatever had happened. The villagers at home always hinted at something being wrong with him, that he was different than other kids. A few times, he’d even heard the word “monster” bantered about before it was quickly hushed up by others. Here, with Minato, he’d started to believe he was normal, well, at least not different in a bad way, but the old insecurity was back with a vengeance.

Minato frowned into his mug a moment before catching Naruto’s gaze. “It’s not something for you to worry about,” he said at last, “and it’s not as bad as it looks.”

Naruto disagreed. The bandages ran all the way up Minato’s arms into his sleeves. He wanted to ask if the red mist had done it. He thought he remembered that as part of his dream, but that would be silly. The red mist was only a part of his nightmare. It couldn’t be real. Instead, he looked back down at his ramen, stirring the remaining noodles around in their soup.

“Naruto-chan,” Minato said, his voice cautious, “You’ve been having those nightmares for days now. Don’t you think it would be best if you talked about it?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Naruto protested with a shake of his head.

“I know you don’t,” Minato said as he leaned forward, elbows on the table before quickly picking them up again with a grimace. “But it _will_ help and I need to know what’s wrong if I’m going to be able to do anything.”

Silence stretched out as Naruto continued to stare into his bowl.

“Think of it like pulling out a splinter,” Minato said when Naruto failed to respond. “It hurts for a moment, but leaving it where it is will only make things worse.” There was a pleading quality to Minato’s voice. “Please.”

How could Naruto say no to that? No one had really asked anything of him before, well, maybe Iruka-sensei. Most people just ignored him or chased him away. Minato hadn’t done any of that. Minato was his hero, his _dad_. Naruto wasn’t entirely sure what it meant to have a dad, but, glancing up quickly at the bandages, he thought he was starting to get an idea.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto kept his focus on the soup in front of him, slowly twirling the noodles round his chopsticks. “They started out like the night I left the village, but the ANBU guys never came and I ended up running away from the bad shinobi and villagers that blamed me for the invasion…and there’s this red mist, too. It follows me everywhere, like it’s hunting me and it hurts every time it touches me and it’s filled with so much hate and anger…Now when I have the dream, I’m just running through the burning city with the battle going on everywhere and the r-red mist is everywhere and I can’t get away a-and no one c-comes to h-help…”

Naruto was close to tears again, choking on a lump that formed in his throat. Every night the dream had gotten worse. He dreaded going to sleep, the thought of being plunged into that fiery version of Konoha made his insides shrink. As much as he hated going to sleep, he equally hated the thought of Minato or anyone else finding out how he was treated. He didn’t want their pity, or worse, have them agree with the villagers. Suddenly, Naruto regretted all the pranks he pulled, worried that would give his new-found friends and father a reason to push him away into an empty and lonely apartment again.

Hands took hold of Naruto’s shoulders and he was turned to the side, facing Minato. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Naruto. I know it was hard for you there, being alone, but you’re not alone anymore. You have to believe me on that.”

Naruto looked up half dreading seeing the unwanted pity in Minato’s eyes, but it was only understanding and sadness and maybe just a touch of anger.

Minato hesitated, visibly drawing in a conscious breath and hands tightening on Naruto’s shoulders a fraction before asking another question. “Back in your old village… did…anyone ever harm you like that before?”

 That was on question Naruto really didn’t want to answer. He didn’t see how he could get out of it though, after telling Minato about his dream. He set his gaze on Minato’s shirt and forced himself to answer. “The villagers…didn’t like me…but they never chased me like they did in my dream.” No, he never had a mob come after him, but he’d been pushed and shoved, had things thrown at him to make him go away, been ignored, avoided, glared at and called names. Sometimes groups of kids ganged up on him and one night someone had kicked in his door yelling curses, but they’d suddenly disappeared almost immediately afterwards. He couldn’t go back to that life even after a few days of living with people who liked him. The loneliness would kill him. “You still like me, right?” Naruto asked after a breath, desperately needing the reassurance, “Even though they didn’t back home?”

One of Minato’s hands came up to cradle Naruto’s cheek as the man slipped off his chair to crouch in front of his son. “Naruto, I love you and nothing anyone else says or thinks is going to change that.” Minato leaned forward, peering into Naruto’s stunned face. “I can do something to get rid of the nightmares, but you have to do your part, too, alright?” Minato said, “Just trust me. You’re not going to be left alone here, alright? No one’s going to treat you like that and there’s always going to be someone to take care of you for as long as you need them.”

Tears spilled over, making Naruto scrub at them, but they were tears of relief rather than the ones that threatened a moment ago. Someone really wanted him here, Naruto realized, his eyes catching the bandaged arms again as the truth hit him. Minato wasn’t just saying those things. He really meant what he’d said in the office earlier that night and just a minute ago.

Naruto couldn’t help himself as he threw himself off the chair and into Minato’s chest. The relief, the happiness that swept through him demanded action. Minato ‘oofed’ as he was knocked off balance and landed on his backside on the kitchen floor, but he didn’t hesitate wrapping Naruto in a tight hug. A wide grin spread across Naruto’s face. He really had a father, a family. It was like a second chance.

* * *

Kakashi crouched in his hiding place. His eyes burned with fatigue and his muscles were strained and cramping but he wasn’t able or willing to relax yet. They had placed a scroll with key information, slightly altered, the spy was looking for in one of the makeshift information store rooms. They had circulated, discreetly, that it was there but only temporarily until a more secure location could be found. They were hoping the short window of opportunity would encourage the spy to act quickly.

Besides Kakashi, there was Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza positioned in the immediate vicinity. Kakashi chose them specifically because he knew their high caliber as shinobi and their special talents in apprehending an individual. The Ino-Shika-Cho group would not be able to help in the operation for long, though. Inoichi should have been resting after an injury he sustained the day before, and Choza and Shikaku were needed elsewhere for the war effort. It was another reason why they needed to act quickly and encourage the spy to take the bait sooner rather than later.

Kakashi was almost getting restless when Kyou appeared, large stack of files and folders in hand. The Copy-nin watched as the spy wound his way through the maze of file cabinets and shelves the intel division had crammed into the small room. Only one other intel-nin was in the room besides Kyou and the hidden Kakashi.

Kyou slowly put away the files into the respective drawers and shelves. Kakashi noted the spy’s surreptitious glance across the room at the other intel-nin currently leafing through some files. Minutes passed as Kyou took his time putting away his files. The other intel-nin found whatever they were looking for and left, shoulders stooped and head bent low over the information. Kyou paused flicking through his last file as the other shinobi shuffled out of the room. He waited another few minutes after they left before sliding his file in place, walking over and checking the doorway.

Apparently satisfied, Kyou moved back fully into the room. This time though, his movements were quick and decisive. Kakashi tensed at Kyou’s change in demeanor.

The trap was almost sprung.

Kakshi forced himself to relax and wait as he watched Kyou dismantle the protective seals over the planted information. They had been careful to make the protection on the scroll challenging but not too difficult for Kyou to overcome. Still, it seemed to take ridiculously long for the spy to break through.

They had agreed at the outset of the operation that they would wait until the spy had taken the bait and tried to leave with the information. All involved agreed that they didn’t want to afford Kyou any chance to deny what he had done. It would give them greater leverage when it came time for the interrogation. So despite the strong impulse screaming at him to strike now, Kakashi drew up every ounce of training he had received, forced himself to remain still, and wait.

Kyou finally finished winding his way through the layered defensive jutsus and nervously glanced over his shoulder at the door. He stared at the doorway for a moment, head cocked in a listening pose, before he turned back to the lock box containing the information. After the jutsu protecting the scroll, the lock was no trouble. In general, ninjas didn't use ordinary locks to protect vital or important items, sealing and locking jutsu were much more effective. Since the invasion, however, security had been so compromised they were using every means of security available.

Easing the lock box open, Kyou reached in and pulled out the heavy scroll. Kakashi had to again remind himself to wait, he could almost hear his old sensei's voice advising patience. He watched the spy hurriedly unroll the scroll. He checked it over, scanning the contents. Kakashi held his breath. Balancing the information in the scroll was difficult. There needed to be enough truth to make it look authentic but enough falsehood to reduce possible damage if the trap failed and the enemy gained the information. Hopefully, they got the balance right.

Kyou pulled out a second blank scroll and laid it out on top of the first. Running through a series of hand signs, Kyou muttered under his breath. Kakashi recognized the seals as a variation of their own scroll copying jutsu, the same jutsu the staff of the Hokage Tower and other sensitive areas had used to duplicate important information on smaller traveling scrolls. The variation Kyou was using, however, was different. There were several extra hand signs thrown in that Kakashi couldn’t decipher the meaning. If he had been at his top game, the Copy-nin would almost certainly determine what the extra signs in that order would do to the jutsu, but as it was he was exhausted, worn down from fatigue and the constant stress since the invasion began. So, Kakashi filed the signs away to work out later.

There was a flash of light and words bled from the bottom scroll to the top creating a photo copy of the original. After quickly checking his work, Kyou rerolled the original scroll and placed it back in the lock box. Kakashi let the spy secure the lock and security seals. He even let Kyou turn and take a few steps toward the door, allowing the spy to feel a moment of triumph thinking he had completed his mission successfully

In that moment, when Kyou thought he could drop his guard, Kakashi gave the signal to close the trap.

Shikaku and Inoichi appeared, blocking the exit. Through the door, Kakashi could see Choza in his position down the hall. Finally, Kakashi stepped out from his hiding place deep in the shadows.

Kyou froze, wide eyes swinging from the two shinobi in front of him to Kakashi behind him. "What...you..." Kyou sputtered, astonished and angered at the confrontation.

"I'm going to have to ask you for that scroll," Kakashi said in a bored drawl, "and to come with us quietly and without a fuss." He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the moment and the wild look in Kyou's eyes. The amount of damage this one person caused had wiped out any sympathy Kakashi might have felt. A part of him actually hoped Kyou tried to get away.

Kyou cursed under his breath, head whipping back to the door and the shinobi blocking him. 

"Don't try it," Shikaku said, voice low and commanding, hands ready to cast a jutsu.

There was a moment when no one moved. Then, the silent room burst into action as Kyou dodged to the right setting off a spurt of flame from his mouth. Inoichi and Shikaku easily dodged only to realize the true target had been the priceless information and intel that lined and filled the room. Documents burst into flame around the room. Using the distraction of the flames, Kyou dodged out of the room and into the hall.

Kakashi cursed and quickly doused the fire in a water jutsu despite the precious chakra it cost him. He should have waited till Kyou was out in the hallway before springing the trap. Water flooded through the room, dousing the flames and documents alike and leaving behind a soggy mess for some low ranking intel-nin to clean. Then, he followed a step behind the others out of the room.

Coming out the door, Kakashi stopped. Kyou was a third of the way down the hall, froze in his tracks and entangled in the tendrils of Shikaku’s shadow. The shadow’s sharp ends had even pierced through the legs at several points to anchor the spy to the floor. Usually the head of the Nara clan wasn’t so brutal right off the bat, but Kakashi supposed he was as disgusted and angry with the traitor as Kakashi was. It didn’t matter though, they had the traitor and they had him alive. This was the exact reason he had chosen the Nara-Shika-Cho shinobi to help with the capture. Roughing him up a little before taking him to interrogation would probably help. At the very least, it would make the four men feel a little better considering what had happened to their home.

Kyou strained against the black shadows holding him in place but it was no use. He cursed and glared and grit his teeth, eyes flashing between his captors and the door at the far end of the hallway, still blocked by Choza.

“That’s not going to help,” Kakashi drawled, sliding up the hall toward the traitor. “They say a single man defending his home is worth ten soldiers invading it. You’re a single man invading our home coming up against four men defending it.”

Kyou didn’t answer, but his glare deepened as Kakashi drew close, pulled the copied scroll out and handed it to Inoichi.

“I’ll get the other one,” Inoichi said and hurried back into the store room to collect the original decoy scroll.

Following Inoichi with his eye, Kakashi almost missed it but the slight movement on his periphery drew his attention. He turned back and spotted the small scrap of paper slipping inconspicuously along the wall, almost to the door. “Choza!” he called pointing to the paper.

Choza turned looking in confusion before he saw the paper just slipping past him. He reached out a hand expanding it to increase his chance for grabbing the paper but it slipped by the hand with a twirl. Kakashi took off after it, dodging around Choza and through the door.

“Get the prisoner to interrogation!” Kakashi called over his shoulder. “I’ll take care of this.” He didn’t hear their reply since he had already turned the corner.

The paper was difficult to keep up with, considering how small and agile it was. It also moved much quicker than Kakashi would have expected only improving his belief that it was a message sent off by the spy. Though he hadn’t encountered her himself, he’d heard reports from the front lines about a kunoichi fighting with the Ame forces that used paper and origami as part of her jutsu. That combined with a scrap of almost life-like paper attached to Amegakure’s spy in their ranks was too much of a coincidence. He couldn’t let the paper get away and potentially carry more information back to the enemy.

Kakashi almost lost the paper as it made a sudden turn and flew out a wide broken window. Grabbing onto the mangled window frame, he was able to swing himself out of the window with almost no break in his stride. The sharp edges of broken glass tore at his uniform, but Kakashi didn’t even notice as he fixed his eye on the tiny scrap of paper headed for the Hokage Tower and put forth a new burst of speed.

**TBC…**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!


	13. Plans

 

**CHAPTER 13: Plans**

Kakashi ran through the rubble of damaged and destroyed buildings, desperately trying to keep up with the scrap of paper that flitted ahead of him. He was quickly approaching enemy territory, where he would have more things to worry about than simply losing track of his quarry. He cursed his own slower than average speed. Thanks to his fatigue, he was barely able to match pace with the paper. As they grew closer to the Hokage Tower, Kakashi tried to estimate what damage to their forces loosing that or any more information would cause. Kakashi couldn’t help but remember the Sandaime’s earlier warnings about keeping the information, even in its altered form, from their opponent.

_“We need to prepare for every possibility,” Sarutobi said, unrolling a blank scroll. “I’m sure your preparations are more than enough to capture this spy, but war is unpredictable. We can’t predict everything that will happen.”_

_“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi agreed. He understood entirely what the Village leader was saying. He, himself, had been caught by surprise many times thanks to a lack of information or an exceptionally clever enemy._

_The old Hokage nodded, carefully dipped a brush into ink and began writing on the scroll. “The majority of the information I provide will be false. However, to ensure it appears genuine, I will have to include at least some authentic information. Even this small amount of information could be dangerous in enemy hands.”_

_Kakashi nodded in understanding, eye steady on his leader as the older man drew out seals and wrote lines mixing truth and falsehoods with a practiced hand._

_“We know that the enemy had several goals when attacking our village. One, undoubtedly, was to reduce our military strength and force, an objective they clearly achieved. Another may have been to start a war between Iwa and ourselves, which is a definite possibility. The third objective, I’m certain, was to kidnap Uzumaki Naruto and gain possession of the Kyūbi.”_

_Kakashi’s eye narrowed. He could well believe the enemy was after Naruto specifically. The enemy had been attempting to take Naruto out of the village when Kakashi and his group of ANBU caught up with them at the beginning of the invasion. Jinchūriki were constant targets of both abduction and assassination wherever they were, so the idea that Naruto was one of the enemy’s goals was not a surprising one in principle. The surprising thing was that they knew about Naruto’s status at all._

_The villagers, for all their dislike and even hatred of Naruto would never, **had** never broken the Sandaime’s law about talking of the demon fox or Naruto’s status. The few who had come close were severely punished and served as an effective example for the rest of the village. That left the question of how the enemy knew that Naruto was a Jinchūriki. _

_True, they’d had a spy in their midst, but Kakashi wasn’t convinced that this particular leak was Kyou’s work. Some part of the puzzle was missing. He just hoped it didn’t mean that they had more than one spy in Konoha, especially someone with higher clearance or a longer history in their ranks._

_Watching the Sandaime add notes surrounding a diagram, Kakashi felt his determination harden. He would not fail in this mission. The enemy had already invaded their home. He would not let them have his sensei’s son as well. “The information they’re after pertains to Naruto’s location, then.”_

_The Sandaime nodded, a deep frown on his face. There was a beat of silence and for a moment Kakashi thought the Hokage would stop there, but the old man elaborated. “I sent Naruto to another dimension. Months ago I was astonished to find one of my old experiments come to life, a prototype for my looking glass that never properly worked. What astonished me most was that instead of viewing another place in this world I was seeing the same place in another potential world. I began conversing with the Hokage of that Konoha. Among other things, we discussed the possibility of sending objects through the glass… purely as academic curiosity, at the time. I developed a seal specifically for that purpose, partly from my own curiosity and partly with the idea that if anything were to happen we could use that other world as a safe haven. Using that seal, I sent Naruto through to the other world where the enemy would not be able to reach him.”_

_Sarutobi pulled a large blank scroll closer to himself. He carefully drew out an intricate seal over the whole surface. When he was finished he spun the scroll around and pushed it in front of Kakashi for inspection._

_“This is the seal I used to send Naruto through the glass,” the Sandaime continued, returning to making the decoy scroll. “I buried the same seal into Naruto’s subconscious with instructions to return when I have told him that it is safe to do so.”_

_Kakashi shifted as he let his sharingan rove over the seal, analyzing, dissecting, memorizing it. “How can you be sure he is safe in this other world?” he asked with an uneasy tone. He didn’t want Naruto in the village with everything that had been happening, but he didn’t like the idea of entrusting the boy to strangers, either._

_“He is in good hands there,” the Sandaime said. The old man’s voice conveyed a wealth of emotion. Kakashi was sure there was more than was being told to him. He was tempted to ask, but held himself back as a shadow passed over Sarutobi’s face._

_“However, I believe the enemy has discovered the looking glass where it was stored in the lower levels of the Tower. Why else would they be so desperate to obtain the information as to risk their spy?”_

_Kakashi nodded. He had to agree and if the enemy did know about the device that the Hokage used, then they would be one step closer to getting to Naruto. It was essential they did not get the information on how to travel through the glass. The full gravity of the situation settled in Kakashi’s chest. This was one mission he could not fail._

Tearing through the rubble of his village, Kakashi felt the same determination from the earlier conversation harden like steel. He noted the distance he had traveled since leaving the temporary headquarters. Though he didn’t know the precise position of the lines at the moment, he knew that he’d be passing into enemy territory soon. However, the thought of stopping and turning around never entered into his mind. As he’d noted before in his meeting with the Hokage, failure was not an option on this mission. If he stopped it would be because he was dead.

Looking up, Kakashi could see the Hokage Tower quickly approaching, which meant he was behind the enemy lines. Making extra care to continue on silently, he mentally prayed that no one had noticed his entrance or his passing, at least until he caught the paper and returned to a safe area.

* * *

The room was filled with hushed voices and shifting bodies as the Tower staff and the Jounin commanders waited for their Hokage to begin. Minato eyed the group. Normally, he would try to be more approachable, smile and talk with those he knew well, but today he wanted to emphasize his position of Hokage and the respect that went along with it. His more serious demeanor was in part due to the reaction he had received from the Council and village elders. They had been skeptical and, in some cases, expressed outright denial over the possibility that his son could have survived. He hadn’t thought he’d need the blood work Tsunade had done, but the elders had proved him wrong on that account. The very thought of it brought a scowl to his face. Hopefully, his attitude would also encourage the staff to stop gossiping about their leader. He waited several more minutes, giving the stragglers a chance to slip through the door and pretend they were there the entire time.

“I’ve called this meeting to discuss a somewhat serious and complicated matter,” Minato began, gaze sweeping across the crowd of Jounin and staff assembled before him. “Many of you have probably heard of and perhaps even seen a boy with a surprising likeness to myself.”

There was a ripple of movement through the staff gathered in the room and Minato knew that they knew exactly who he was talking about.

“I feel I should clear up any confusion surrounding this rumor. First, let me say the boy is my son, Naruto.”

Whispers, and even some gasps, broke out in the back of the room at the revelation, mainly among the civilian employees present. Minato could see the questions already forming on several people’s lips so he continued, preemptively answering them. This was the hard part.

“As many of you know, my son was reported as still born eight years ago. However, that report was false. My son survived and I placed him into hiding as a protection against the perpetrators of the attack. He’s growing up, though, and cannot spend his entire life hidden away from his home village. So I have decided to bring him home to stay with me.”

The whispering had now spread throughout the entire assembly, civilians and shinobi alike. Minato allowed the shock and surprise to settle for a few moments before speaking again.

“If any of you have questions about the validity of my claim, Tsunade-sama has the results of the blood work for your perusal, should you need it.”

Next to him, Tsunade brandished a scroll unrolling it enough to show its contents were indeed the results from a blood test. Whether it was due to Minato’s frosty tone or Tsunade’s scowl, no one stepped forward to question the Hokage’s claim due to curiosity or political aspirations.

“This is considered an A-ranked secret,” Minato continued, “Though I’ve brought Naruto out of hiding, I do not want other villages to know about him, yet. In fact, the longer it takes for word to get out the better. So, if you have been talking about this matter-”

Several people ducked their heads or shifted from one foot to the other in embarrassment.

“-or have heard anyone talking about it, kindly inform them it is classified for the time being.”

“Hokage-sama,” one staff member spoke up from the midst of the crowd, raising a hand to be seen. Minato recognized him as the senior instructor in charge of the academy. “Will your son be attending school next year? He should be eight now, am I correct?”

Minato nodded, acknowledging his question. “That’s a little far off to plan just now. We’ll see how things develop and how well he adjusts to his new situation.”

“But where have you been keeping him?” another voice came from the back of the group.

“Somewhere very safe,” Minato said, hedging the question. “Thank you for your time, I’m sure you all have other things you need to be doing.” The crowd bowed and began to disperse a slow trickle out of the room.

Shikaku came through the crowd, bowing as he drew near and Minato gestured him forward. “Hokage-sama, how did you injure you hands?” the Nara asked with a subdued tone, just audible over the shifting and talking of the group as people left the room.

Minato didn’t let any reaction touch his face. He had been wondering if anyone would have the nerve to ask. There’d been almost as many stares and whispers concerning his bandaged hands as there had been speculating as to the meeting’s purpose. It wasn’t too surprising that Shikaku asked.

Telling Shikaku and, in turn everyone in hearing distance, that he’d injured his hands trying to control the Kyūbi’s chakra as it used his son as a focal point to re-coalesce was unthinkable. So Minato did the next best thing. He lied. “I was working on an experiment last night and it got out of hand. I have already had them looked at. They are basically fine, and will heal completely with time.”

“That’s very good to hear, Hokage-sama.” Shikaku’s bright, intelligent eyes surveyed the damaged arms and Minato’s face. Minato looked back with an expression carved from stone. He could tell that the Nara clan leader knew he was lying, but Shikaku was loyal and more importantly, knew how keeping confidence and maintaining face in a hidden village worked. He would not tell anyone his suspicions not that he had much to tell in the first place. All he knew was that Minato did not injure his arms in an experiment.

What could become troublesome was that Minato was lying about more than just the origin of his wounds. While he was basically healed and could use his arms and hands to mold chakra and perform jutsu, he was also far from recovered. His arms hurt if he used them too much or too fast. Lifting heavy loads was next to impossible, too, and according to Tsunade the symptoms could go on for days or even weeks. There was just no telling when the remnant of Kyūbi’s chakra would work its way out of its system.

Given more information, Shikaku might be able to figure out more, but Minato wasn’t going to allow that to happen. He nodded his thanks for the concern and, turning from the still crowded room, Minato headed toward the door. Turning the corner to move toward his office Minato breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less thing for him to worry about, but the ones that remained were too many to count.

* * *

Naruto felt better than he had in days. He had almost a full night’s sleep, staying in bed late that morning after the nightmare and subsequent check up and talk. When Minato had taken him back to his room, they found Kakashi and Rin plastering his walls with seals. When he’d asked what they were for, the silver haired man replied in that bored tone without batting an eye.

“They’re magic symbols to keep bad dreams away.”

“Really?” Naruto had gasped looking at the square bits of paper lining the wall with a new eye. The symbols looked like regular seals to him, though he couldn’t tell what type. They hadn’t even come close to breaching the topic in the academy. He just barely caught Rin rolling her eyes at Kakashi’s explanation.

Either way, Naruto didn’t care. Whether they were magical symbols or just regular seals, they had done the job and Naruto didn’t have a single nightmare until he woke late the next morning. Even as he moved around the house he felt better, less frustrated and annoyed with everything. The slightly restless feeling was still there, like he was waiting for something that he couldn’t remember. The itching in the back of his skull was still there, too, but it was easier to stand.

Naruto spent the rest of the morning helping Kakashi make a grocery list, mainly reminding the silver headed man to add more instant ramen. After lunch Naruto retreated to his room to begin planning his prank on the taciturn man. That was where Rin found him almost an hour later.

“Here you are,” Rin said as she eased open the door. “I was wondering if I was going to have to hunt you down again.” She grimaced slightly at the thought.

Naruto grinned, one hand going to the back of his head. “Sorry ‘bout that, Rin-neesan.”

Rin just chuckled. “As long as I don’t have to go through a gauntlet like that again. You’re a handful, you know that?” She cautiously stepped into the room, stopping not too far from the door and leaning against the wall. “What are you doing in here all alone?” an edge of suspicion entered her tone and she eyed the room around her as if expecting a can of paint to drop from nowhere.

Naruto hesitated saying anything. After all, he’d never shared his pranks with anyone else, but then again, he’d never had anyone to share them with in the first place. Suddenly, he wanted someone else to be in on the joke, to laugh with him when he managed to pull it off and get Kakashi. Still, he wasn’t sure if Rin would be the right choice. She hadn’t liked his pranks before, but that might have been because she’d gotten caught in all of them. Minato was at work and Kakashi was gone shopping for grocery supplies, not that he’d be able to tell Kakashi since he was Naruto’s next target in the first place. So that left Rin.

Naruto eyed the kunoichi in front of him. She could be fun sometimes, and if he promised not to get her then maybe she would help. “Actually…I’m planning a prank for Kakashi.”

“Naruto-kun, you know what Minato…” Rin started but stopped halfway through her protest, eyes narrowing just slightly. “You’re planning it for _Kakashi_?”

“Yeah! Min- I mean, Dad said I could,” Naruto added in the last part quickly, wanting to make sure Rin understood he had permission.

The kunoichi was quiet for a moment, but the slowly growing grin on her face and distant look in her eyes made Naruto believe that she wasn’t worrying over him breaking the no-prank rule. She looked down at Naruto sitting on his bed, scribbles of possible ideas scattered around him on scrap paper drawn in crayon.

“Think you might want some help?” Rin asked the grin on her face huge and devious.

Naruto looked at her, surprised for a moment, before an equally large and devious grin spread across his. He nodded vigorously, excited by the prospect of sharing his awesome prank with someone and feeling lighter than he had since the attack in the Old Konoha. “Yeah, dattebayo!”

His words seemed to throw Rin off for a moment as she stared at him in vague shock, but then the grin was back. Tussling his hair, Rin chuckled, “Just like your mother.”

The comment made Naruto’s heart skip a beat. His mother? Something about him was just like his mother? He knew he looked just like his dad, that was obvious to anyone with eyes, but it hadn’t occurred to him that he didn’t know anything about his mother. A sudden desire to know her swept through him. What was she like? What was her name? Where had she gone?

Rin sat down on the edge of the bed, scooping up the sketched ideas and looking them over with that same devious expression. Now that he had someone to plan and enjoy the prank with, Naruto didn’t want to distract himself asking questions, but privately he promised himself to ask his dad the moment he got a chance.

“These are good,” Rin said shuffling through the papers and putting some on top of the stack. “But I’ll tell you the secret to a great trap,” Rin’s voice dropped low and she leaned toward Naruto as if in preparation for telling him a guarded secret. “The secret to laying a great trap as opposed to just a good one is knowing your opponent’s weakness.”

* * *

Minato came home early from work that night. He left soon after his staff meeting, only partially sneaking past his secretary to avoid any mention of the as yet unfinished paperwork on his desk. He remembered the Sandaime complaining about the constant pressure to win the paper war but hadn’t experienced it himself until recently. He could only say his new awareness of it was thanks to his equally new desire to be home.

Tonight Minato had a particularly good reason for leaving early, office work finished or unfinished, in case anyone confronted him. He needed to finish placing seals around the house for security. Of course, no one was to know that he was primarily securing Naruto against absorbing too much of the Kyūbi’s chakra at once, but he doubted anyone would wonder too deeply about the Hokage placing additional security around his recently returned son. Kakashi had plastered Naruto’s bedroom with the temporary seal suppressants already, but it was a temporary fix. They needed something more permanent and to withstand the Kyūbi’s corrosive chakra.

Minato had spent a large part of his lunch combining barrier and chakra suppressant seals and then fine tuning the new seal specifically to keep the Kyūbi’s chakra at bay. The Kyūbi’s chakra was unique and he was sure that he would be able to stop it from entering the house and suppress any already in the structure without unduly affecting his own or anyone else’s. He’d also drawn up more regular suppressant seals to keep on hand at all times, just in case.

The new seal should allow Naruto to move freely through the house and sleep without nightmares, but it was still just a temporary measure. Minato didn’t know how well the seal would work without a physical barrier as well and he was hesitant to put Naruto in danger to try it out on open ground, which meant his energetic son was still confined indoors. Kakashi and Rin would not be happy about that, much less Naruto himself, especially when they’d just given a credible explanation to the village about Naruto’s presence.

Dropping down onto his front steps, Minato tried to lighten the thoughtful frown on his face. He didn’t want to worry Naruto. The boy didn’t know about the Kyūbi as far as Minato could tell, and he was fine maintaining this ignorance for as long as possible. He remembered the weight Kushina had to bear when she was the Kyūbi’s jinchūriki and he wanted his son free of that same weight for as long as possible. He didn’t know, specifically if ignorance would help, but he was willing to try it with both the village and Naruto for as long as he could manage.

Opening the door, Minato set the notes for his new seal and the stack of suppressant seals down while he removed his sandals. “I’m home!” he called, a brief but genuine smile lighting his face as he remembered what it was like to have someone to yell that to, but the announcement was met with silence.

Frowning now in confusion as well as a small amount of suspicion, Minato paused. The house was quiet, almost too quiet. He looked inside the sitting room to find it empty as well as the kitchen and the entire first floor. The more rooms Minato entered the more cautious he became, very well aware of the one prank deal that he had made with his son. Naruto was supposed to be targeting Kakashi, but there were no guarantees.

By the time Minato reached the stairs he was feeling downright paranoid. He ascended the stairs slowly, ready to move at a moment’s notice and only briefly reflecting how on the absurdity of his situation. Naruto was an eight year old, hardly a threat to a ninja as experienced as Minato, but the possibility that said eight year old had managed to booby trap some part of the house was entirely real and that was enough for him.

Minato found Naruto and Rin in the boy’s room. He heard their low voices carrying through the door before he saw them, knocking a few times before pushing the door open. Naruto and Rin both froze, looking up at the door with wide eyes. They caught site of Minato and sagged in relief.

“You’re home early!” Rin said with an innocent smile.

Minato stopped at the bright tone and face. It threw him for a loop and for a moment all he could do was blink at the woman in his son’s room as Naruto nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I-” Minato started but interrupted himself. He didn’t want Naruto to know about the Kyūbi or the need for seals everywhere at the moment. “I had some chores to get done so I came home. What are _you_ two doing up here?”

“Oh…well…” Rin started. Beside her Naruto opened his mouth, undoubtedly to proclaim whatever scheme the two of them had begun, but Rin clamped a hand over his mouth. “It’s a surprise!” she said finally, with a nod and a smile.

That didn’t make Minato feel any better as he looked from Rin’s innocent smile to Naruto’s growing mischievous one. _Please let them be planning something for Kakashi_ , Minato prayed silently. “Well, I’ll be downstairs…”

“Alright, Sensei!” Rin said, not so subtly urging Minato out the door.

“Right…” Minato said, hesitant to ask more. The door snapped shut in his face and he blinked for a moment at the wood planks. “ _Please_ let it be for Kakashi,” he murmured again as he turned away and headed back down stairs.

Stopping briefly at his office to pick up his sealing ink, Minato made his way downstairs. He decided to start at the corner of the house in the kitchen. He would work his way around the outer wall placing seals at regular intervals to prevent the Kyūbi’s chakra from seeping in to the house. Then, he would do the same for the upper level, as well.

Minato set up the finished seal he had created and began the careful process of copying it precisely. He moved slowly and rechecked his work constantly, not willing to risk making a mistake. He had just finished the first seal and was checking over for any errors when Kakashi entered the room, carrying bags of groceries.

“Welcome home, Sensei,” Kakashi said setting the groceries on the table and pulling them out of their bags.

Minato looked over at a bag filled only with instant cup ramen and glanced at Kakashi. “Don’t tell me, Naruto helped write the grocery list.”

“More like badgered me about ramen while I wrote the grocery list,” Kakashi corrected. “At the time it seemed like a good way to shut the kid up, but now I think I’m going to have to deal with Rin... at least I didn’t get as much as your kid wanted in the first place.”

Minato chuckled and turned back to the drying seal on the wall. “He’s so much like his mother,” he said quietly, wistfully.

“Is that the new seal you were going to make?” Kakashi asked, his abrupt change of topics not going unnoticed by Minato. He abandoned the groceries on the table and stepped next to his sensei to better examine the finished seal.

“Yes,” Minato said, stowing away the surge of nostalgia that had threatened to take hold. “If it does what it’s supposed to, it’ll only suppress the Kyūbi’s chakra as opposed to just any chakra, leaving us free to use jutsu if needed and practice with Naruto if we so choose. That’s if I’ve gotten everything correct on the first try. I want you and Rin to carry around chakra suppressants, just in case, until we know if and how well this thing works.”

Kakashi nodded _,_ picking up the version written on the scroll. He pushed up his headband, revealing his sharingan eye and looked over every detail of the scroll. “When I’m finished with the groceries, I’ll help place them around the wall.”

Minato nodded his thanks only to grimace when Kakashi continued. The silver haired man had turned back to the table and didn’t see the gesture.

“It’s a good thing Rin is keeping Naruto busy. It’ll make this much easier without any interruptions.”

Minato turned back to the seal still waiting to be activated and bit his lip. He thought about the two upstairs and Naruto’s devious smile and wondered if he should warn Kakashi. He didn’t really think Naruto would manage to pull anything over on the copy-nin, but Rin was helping him. That changed things. Shaking his head, Minato dismissed any ideas about warnings. It would help keep Kakashi on his toes.

As if summoned by the thought, pattering footsteps made their way down the upstairs hallway and down the stair case. A moment later, Naruto appeared in the room, his eyes landing on Kakashi immediately and a smile flashed across his face. Rin appeared a moment later at a more sedate pace. She brushed past Naruto and sat down at the kitchen table after pouring herself a drink.

“Oh you’re finally back,” Rin said.

“Yeah, you took forever,” Naruto added, following Rin’s example and sitting down at the table. His smile widened a little more when he saw the bag of ramen and he pulled it toward him, examining the flavors present. However, even while perusing the ramen, Naruto’s eyes kept coming up to find Kakashi.

_Well, at least it isn’t me_ , Minato thought to himself watching the two figures at the table. Whatever they were planning apparently they were expecting it soon. Rin was fighting a grin as she sipped her water and Naruto didn’t bother to hide his, though whether it was for an anticipated prank or the ramen now sitting directing in front of him was difficult to determine. Minato was happy to see the grin on Naruto’s face was more carefree, happier and wider than it had been the last several days, maybe since Naruto first came. Blocking the Kyūbi’s chakra had done wonders.

Kakashi seemed to notice the attention from the two as well and he stopped midway through picking up groceries to put away in the cupboards. “What’s wrong with you two?” he asked, eyeing each one suspiciously.

“What are ya talkin’ about?” Naruto asked, the picture of innocence on his face.

“Really Kakashi-kun,” Rin said rolling her eyes, “You’re getting paranoid in your old age.”

“Hmm,” Kakashi hummed moving to the cupboards to put away the canned goods. He paused a moment, frowning back at the two at the table, then slid his gaze over to Minato a moment before turning back to the cupboard.

Behind Kakashi’s back, Minato could see both Rin and Naruto tense just slightly in anticipation. Kakashi wrenched the cupboard door open and sprang back, ready for anything but what happened, which was nothing. A minute passed by and still nothing happened making the silver haired ninja drop his shoulders and chuckle in embarrassment. He moved back to the cupboard reaching up to put away the canned bean sprouts. “Maa, from the way you two were acting I was sure you’d done som-”

BANG! The confetti exploded out of the cupboard, dousing Kakashi in strips of paper as he stood frozen with his hand half extended. Naruto burst into laughter, slapping his hand on the table as Rin chuckled beside him. Minato laughed as well as, the exasperated look on Kakashi’s face was priceless.

“Well, I guess you got me,” Kakashi sighed, shaking his head and sending a cascade of paper to the floor. “Though, I did know you were up to something, your element of surprise could do with a little work.”

Minato saw through it right away. Kakashi was trying to play the incident off as though it were nothing. Rin saw through it as well, since her eyes narrowed and the grin turned just a little more devious.

“ _Really_ , Kakashi?” the emphasis in her tone and the continued grin on Naruto’s face made Minato pause. There wasn’t more to it, was there?

Kakashi noticed it too and again his eyes narrowed, switching between the two pranksters. He looked down at the paper strewn over the counter and froze. Minato could see his visible eye widen in horror and he spun to face Rin and Naruto. “You _didn’t_.”

“Didn’t what?” Rin asked, assumed innocence dripping from her tone.

Naruto was too busy giggling beside her to put in his own comment and Kakashi didn’t wait for the boy to recover before tearing out of the kitchen. Minato could hear his footsteps pound up the stairs and down the hall toward the bed room that he’d claimed for the time being. Now, Rin and Naruto were both laughing in earnest, and in Naruto’s case, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

“What did you two do?” Minato asked unsure if he should laugh along with them or be concerned for Kakashi’s horror-stricken expression.

“Just wait, Sensei, you’ll find out,” Rin said, calming down enough to speak clearly.

“We really got ‘im, dattebayo!” Naruto cheered, punching a fist in the air.

Minato felt the breath catch in his throat but managed to keep the same expression on his face, even when Rin quickly glanced toward him with a nervous expression. A moment and a careful breath later he had complete control over himself again. It was surprising to find Naruto had the same verbal tick as his mother and Minato wondered if the prolonged exposure to the Kyūbi’s chakra had really affected Naruto so much that he was only just now feeling like himself. Besides that moment of shock, Minato realized he was happy for it. It was another way Kushina could be with them both.

A horrified scream cut Minato’s thoughts short as he looked up toward the second floor from where it originated. Rin and Naruto burst out in a new wave of laughter. Over the sound of their guffaws, Minato could make out thumping footsteps coming back down the hall and stairs returning to the kitchen.

“You _did_! I can’t _believe_ you two!” he fumed, storming into the room and slamming a copy of his Icha-Icha books down on the table. Except it wasn’t a book, Minato realized. It was the cover of the book, the pages had all been removed. Glancing over to the confetti still on the counter and floor, it was easy to see where the innards of the books had gone. It wasn’t quite fair to Kakashi. Minato knew how much those books meant to the silver haired man, especially since Minato himself had put Naruto up to it, but despite himself, Minato huffed out a laugh.

“This isn’t funny, Sensei!” Kakashi protested sounding half way to panic.

The protest only made Minato laugh harder, it made Kakashi sound more like an indignant teenager than when the copy-nin had actually _been_ a teenager.

Rin had gained back enough breath to push herself upright again from her slouched position over the table. “Don’t worry, Kakashi-kun,” she gasped, a few more chuckles escaping her, “We didn’t destroy your precious books, but that’s not to say you’ll have an easy time finding them.”

Kakashi groaned in frustration renewing Naruto’s dying giggles and making Minato laugh again. Minato wondered how long it would take Kakashi to find his collection again and if there were any extra surprises waiting for him there, as well.

The moment of laughter was interrupted when a toad appeared before Minato making everyone fall quiet. It had the tell-tale signs of Mt. Myoboku and though Minato had never seen this specific toad he could easily tell that it belonged to Jiraiya. The creature didn’t waste time speaking, it simply turned to the widest open space in the kitchen and spat out Jiraiya’s bloody and beaten body on to the floor.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	14. Steps

 

**Chapter 14: Steps**

“Sensei!” Minato cried, dropping down next to Jiraiya and checking on him.

Rin was around the table and running glowing green hands over the old Sannin in an instant, brow furrowed in concentration. Minato could tell that Jiraiya was alive, thanks to the shallow lifts of the man’s chest, and that he’d been badly beaten, but knew little else about his condition. At the other end of the room, Kakashi had already summoned one of his ninja dogs and sent him to get Tsunade. Minato vaguely wondered how many more times the woman could be called to his house for an emergency in one week.

“What happened to him?” Naruto asked in shock.

Minato looked up to find his son’s wide, frightened eyes fixed on Jiraiya’s body. Flicking his own gaze up, he found Kakashi and jerked his head toward the door.

Kakashi nodded and took Naruto by the shoulder, guiding him away from the scene and out to the hallway. “What happened?” Naruto asked again, still looking over his shoulder “Is he going to be alright?”

“We don’t know what happened,” Minato could hear Kakashi saying, “But we’re going to find out and Jiraiya’s going to be fine. The man’s more stubborn than you.”

The voices faded away into the hall and Minato looked back to Rin opening his mouth to demand an update. Rin cut him off, though, speaking without looking up from her work as blood leaked onto the floor.

“He’s got several broken ribs, a cracked sternum, and some internal bleeding as well as a concussion and multiple contusions. I’m working to stop the internal bleeding but there’s a lot of damage.” Her voice was tight with concentration, a world’s difference from the bright laughter that had filled it only minutes ago. “Sensei, who could have done this?”

“I don’t know,” Minato said, his own expression hard with determination. He immediately thought back to the man that they had seen through the mirror the last time they activated it, the man with the Rinnegan. He could do something like this, if he was as powerful as Jiraiya said. However, there was no guarantee that the same man was even alive in this world so it was only supposition. The best they could hope for would be Jiraiya healing enough to wake and tell them the identity of his attacker. Even if that didn’t happen, Minato would solve the mystery. “But like Kakashi said, I intend to find out.”

* * *

Tsunade arrived quickly, not commenting on once again being summoned to the Hokage’s residence. She didn’t bother saying anything to anyone. She pushed the table and chairs away, crashing them into the far wall. Then, she dropped down next to her friend, green hands already lit and scanning from his head down to the torso.

“I’ve stabilized most of the internal bleeding,” Rin said, focusing on Jiraiya’s lower torso.

Tsunade grunted, concentrating on his chest.

Minato watched the scene, anger boiling up inside him. It was disturbingly similar to how Kushina had looked when she died, exhausted from childbirth, in agony from the Kyūbi being ripped out of her, and covered in her own blood. He’d already lost his family once when Kushina and his Naruto died. He’d be damned if he lost it again.

Tsunade scowled down at the bloody mess that was Jiraiya’s chest. “Dammit Minato, if you can’t keep yourself in check then get the Hell out.”

Blinking in surprise, Minato clamped down on his chakra. He tore his eyes away from Jiraiya and hurried out the door. The medical-nin needed to focus and he couldn’t risk distracting them. In the hall, he let out a breath and turned, looking back at the kitchen door. Half of him still wished he was in the room so he could know how his mentor was doing and the other half was glad to be away from the nightmarish scene.

“Is he gonna be alright?” Naruto asked, tugging on Minato’s sleeve to get his attention.

Minato looked down, tearing his eyes away from the door. Naruto stared up at him, eyes wide and face pale. Minato turned the boy around and ushered him farther down the hall, away from Tsunade and Rin’s hurried voices. Kakashi followed, murmuring about checking the perimeter before disappearing into the background.

“Jiraiya’s going to be fine,” Minato said. He struggled to sound reassuring in the midst of his own doubt. “Tsunade will fix him up…then you can tell him all about pranking Kakashi-kun.”

Naruto didn’t look convinced and Minato couldn’t blame him. He’d never seen his sensei in such bad shape, though he’d heard about the time Tsunade caught the old pervert peeping. That was different, though. No matter what Jiraiya had done, Tsunade would never go far enough in a beating to kill him or even attempt to do so. Whoever had beaten Jiraiya this time had definitely been trying to kill the man.

“Jiraiya’s tough,” Minato said, gripping Naruto’s shoulder and staring back toward the kitchen, “He wouldn’t let something like this get the best of him.” Minato wasn’t sure if he was speaking more for Naruto’s benefit or for his own.

Shaking himself, Minato looked for something to distract Naruto. If he was lucky then he would turn both their minds away from the kitchen and the drama unfolding inside. Latching on to his first thought, Minato said, “Did you know he’s your godfather?”

Naruto looked up at Minato, eyes torn away from the kitchen for the first time. “My godfather? What does that mean?”

Minato slid down the wall until he sat on the floor. Naruto plopped down next to him and he wrapped on arm around the small boy. “A godfather is like…an adopted parent in some ways. They’re supposed to look after you, teach you like your real parents.”

“So…Jiraiya’s like a second dad?” Naruto asked, face scrunched up at the idea.

Phrased like that, Minato wasn’t sure he liked it either. “Well…more like an uncle…that you shouldn’t really listen to half the time…at least about women…or money…or alcohol,” Minato looked down at Naruto, regretting choosing this topic of conversation. “You know what? Whatever Jiraiya tells you, check with me with first before you act on it.”

Naruto’s face was grave when he nodded in agreement. “He is an old pervert.”

Minato huffed out a laugh, releasing some of the tension trapped inside him. “You can say that again.” He squeezed Naruto’s shoulders in a quick hug. The gesture made the boy smile, but it faded away as a pensive expression appeared on his face. “What is it?” Minato asked.

“Earlier Rin said something, she said I was like my mother,” Naruto glanced down at his hands before peering back up at Minato. “I was wondering about her.”

Looking down at his son, Minato wished that Kushina was still there, if only because he’d never be able to stand up to those wide blue eyes. She would have been a much better disciplinarian. Minato melted too easily.

Drawing in a deep breath, Minato looked beyond the far wall. “Your mother’s name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was…the love of my life.” Minato faltered, not sure what to say. This was more difficult than he thought it would be after so many years, especially when he’d already accepted his child’s death and never thought he’d have this particular discussion.

“Do you have a picture?” Naruto asked when Minato didn’t continue after a moment.

Minato nodded. He had lots of pictures, all hidden away where he couldn’t see them, couldn’t stumble across them by accident. “C’mon.” He pushed off of the floor and moved to the stairs.

The nearest box of pictures sat in his office. He had shoved them in a back corner under a shelf like some form of contraband, unwilling and unable to throw them away but equally reluctant to look at them. The shelf was buried under piles of scrolls and books, as hidden from the world as the box of pictures itself. Digging out both was like an excavation, travelling back in time with each layer of documents removed.

Naruto hovered behind him, looking around the room with a swiveling neck. Minato supposed the only two times the boy had been in the room he’d been too preoccupied to really notice it, the first time setting a trap and the second time getting yelled at for said trap. As long as Naruto didn’t touch anything that would harm him Minato didn’t mind the boy looking.

Reaching back farther than he remembered needing to, Minato’s fingers finally brushed a dusty cardboard box. He strained a few moments, fingers fumbling for the box, touching it but unable to draw it closer. A finger snagged a tear in the corner of the cardboard and managed to pull it a fraction closer. From there, he was able to get a better hold on it and drag the box into the light.

The dust was thick on the lid, matted and dense from time. Minato hoped the contents weren’t damaged. It had been eight years since he’d unburied these particular memories and they weren’t stored in the most protective container. He turned around, settling into a comfortable spot on the floor against the bookshelf behind him. Patting the floor next to him, he silently invited Naruto to take a seat. Naruto dropped down, looking at the box in Minato’s hands with keen interest.

For a long moment they just stared at it. Part of Minato hesitated to open the box after such a long time. Naruto watched, twitching with impatience. The boy looked down at the box and reached one hand out to touch the lid. Minato placed the box in Naruto’s lap after only a brief hesitation. The boy looked up at him and grinned before flipping the top off without any reservations.

“Are these all of mom?” Naruto asked, looking at the disorganized mound of pictures.

“Most,” Minato said, glad to see that the pictures looked undamaged. He reached into the box, pulling out a stack for closer inspection. On top was a picture of Kushina, her long hair as red as it remained in his memories. Studying it for a minute, Minato passed it over to Naruto. “That’s your mother.”

Naruto stared at the picture for a moment, eyes wide in amazement. “She has really pretty hair,” he said with the same awkwardness all boys had when trying to compliment girls, even their mothers.

Minato chuckled. Kushina would have been happy to hear Naruto say that. “Yes,” he agreed, “Her hair was beautiful.”

“What happened to her?” Naruto asked, hand dipping into the box and drawing out another picture. It was of Kushina fluffing a younger Kakashi’s hair. In the shot, Kakashi looked resigned, his hitiate pulled down over one eye.

“She died,” Minato said, torn between humor as he remembered the events of the picture and sorrow from his loss, “saving the village.”

Naruto glanced toward the door and Minato guessed what he was thinking. “Jiraiya’s not going to die yet,” he said firmly. “He’s too stubborn for that. Besides, he still has to make my life hell by introducing you to girls.”

Naruto looked up at him with a serious expression. “Girls are gross,” he said, then added after a long pause, “Except Sakura-chan. She’s not gross…though she can be a little scary sometimes.”

Minato chuckled. “Kushina could be scary, too,” he said, almost to himself. “But don’t let that fool you. Women have to have a tough exterior if they want to survive in the shinobi world. That doesn’t mean they can’t have a soft side, too…just…don’t tell Tsunade I said that, alright?”

Naruto nodded, looking back down at the mound of pictures. Minato replaced the stack he had pulled out, plucking up the pictures that Naruto held and putting them in the box, too. He slipped the cover back on and stood, taking the box with him. “Let’s go downstairs and look through them in the sitting room. Then, Rin and Tsunade will be able to find us when they’re done with Sensei.”

Naruto nodded, jumping to his feet and running out into the hall. Minato followed at a slower pace, locking and sealing the door behind him. There were enough pictures in the box to distract them until the medical ninja were done with, what would hopefully be, good news.

* * *

Kakashi was close. A few times he had almost caught the paper and he was now within grasping distance. He lunged forward, fingers brushing the very edge of the paper figure when something slammed into him from the side. The impact knocked him off course and the paper slipped through his fingers.

Recovering from the surprise impact, Kakashi quickly realized that it was an enemy shinobi who had tackled him. Whether the man realized what he had done by attacking Kakashi at that precise moment or not, he was going to pay.

Kakashi spun around in the other’s grip, quickly breaking the enemy’s hold and taking a more advantageous position. The other shinobi grunted, realizing that the scales of power had tipped as Kakashi attacked from behind. Somewhere during the grappling, Kakashi realized that the ninja he was fighting against was barely a man, several years younger than Kakashi himself.

Not that this changed anything. The young man was also a ninja, invading another country and another ninja village. Every genin accepted the risk at a young age from the moment they accepted the hitiate of their village. Not to mention that because of this young man Kakashi had missed what was probably his best chance to stop the enemy from gaining potentially dangerous information.

So, in short, Hatake Kakashi was pissed.

Pulling out a kunai from the enemy’s own pouch, Kakashi plunged it into the man’s chest. He pushed against the other man’s back separating them as the enemy shinobi stumbled forward and Kakashi jumped back a few feet to land on his knees. He breathed heavily, almost spent from sleepless nights and exhausting days, but desperate to finish the fight and get back to the chase. Channeling a little lightning chakra into his blade, Kakashi leapt forward just as his opponent turned, thrusting his kunai through the man’s heart.

Kakashi didn’t waste a step as he turned and sought the paper once again, but a cold sensation settled into his stomach. He’d lost too much distance. The altercation, mere seconds that it was, had cost him precious time and energy. Now, he didn’t know how he could possibly catch up before it reached the Hokage Tower, looming above the rubble around him.

As if to emphasize the point, Kakashi’s legs suddenly gave out on him, collapsing under his weight. He dropped like a stone to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, panting as he felt the weakness of chakra exhaustion eating away at him. Kakashi cursed, looking up just in time to see the white spec of paper disappear into a Tower window. He slammed his fist into the ground, only avoiding injury to his hand due to the weakness that coursed through him.

He’d failed! Kakashi couldn’t believe, couldn’t accept that he’d failed. There had to be something more he could do.

Groaning, Kakashi pushed himself over onto his back. He could feel blackness encroaching on his vision but stayed conscious by sheer force of will. Looking around, he found an overhang formed by several walls and slabs of concrete that had fallen over in the street. It was low to the ground and hidden from prying eyes. Gritting his teeth with effort, Kakashi dragged himself to the cover, rolling under the rubble with the dregs of his energy. The last thing he registered was coming to a stop against the inside corner before the shadows closed in and the world went dark and silent.

* * *

Pain looked over the information Konan’s paper message had brought him. He studied every line and diagram with a careful eye. Their spy had sacrificed himself to obtain this information and he didn’t plan to let that sacrifice go to waste. While he wasn’t concerned about the loss of a man, he did regret the loss of a valuable information source. However, if the information provided proved enough then the benefit would be well worth the cost.

Even with a cursory inspection, Pain could tell that much of the provided information was false. However, in traps like this, a skilled shinobi buried accurate information in with the false to lend it authenticity, it just took a careful eye to spot it. After all, spies could generally smell a trap when the bait was nonsensical, but truth mixed in with lies could make a trap sweet enough to catch flies. The tricky part was discerning the difference between the two. Studying the information, it was clear Konoha didn’t realize that Pain had two other sources to draw from in his possession. Before him, he had the fragment of a scroll, too small to be any use on its own, but when combined with the information recently gained it was enough to differentiate fact from fiction in several places.

Then, Pain also had his own observations from the brief moment that he’d seen the mirror activated. It was both more and less helpful than the half destroyed scrap he had found. Analyzing the chakra paths told a great deal about how the mirror worked, but it was only raw data. It needed analysis and in some cases leaps of logic to make connections between the raw chakra paths with the notes he’d drawn out and the set of polished information stolen by his spy. Chakra paths could tell how much chakra was needed for a technique, but not the precise hand signs or seals used in a technique. It was an outline with no detail.

From the information spread out before him, Pain thought he would be able to open the portal himself and perhaps send over chakra, but sending or bringing physical objects through was still out of his grasp. In theory, he could bring the Kyūbi to the other side of the mirror and drain its chakra through the mirror, but that was impractical. There was no place immediately available to store the massive amount of chakra and, more importantly, there was no way to guarantee their control over the other end of the portal for the time needed to drain all of the chakra.

No, the best option would be to bring the Kyūbi’s Container back through and keep him somewhere secure until they needed to extract the bijū. That meant working out a way to bring solid, living things over from the other side. Pain knew he could figure out a way to do it with the information before him and some testing of his own, but it would take time, something they were short on as the Iwa forces continued to be pushed back and his faction lost their own advantage with the capture of their spy.

Pulling a blank sheet of paper toward him, Pain drew out the symbols he believed would activate the mirror. He’d seen the other Hokage begin the deactivation sequence, giving him a good starting point for the activation sequence. That information served as a base which he coupled with knowledge gleaned from the intel gathered before him. Added with sources from what remained of the Hokage’s private library, he began working on a possible method to move physical material from one place to another. After hours of theoretical calculation, he developed a possible solution. On paper, it seemed possible but it was only theory, and an incomplete one at that. He was at the point where he needed some practical application of his experiments to continue.

Pain stood from his place at the Hokage’s old desk and moved into the hallway. He navigated through the damaged and ruined corridors, down the half destroyed staircases and into the lowest levels of the Tower. The two guards positioned by the mirror room let him pass without comment when they saw who it was.

The mirror room was in the same state of disarray as when they first broke in, but the mirror itself had been cleaned and cleared of all debris. It stood reflecting the damaged world around it without a scratch from the traps and protections laid by the Sandaime. Pain examined it again, checking over the entire surface and the surrounding floor once more. He sent an experimental chakra surge through the crystal receiving the same reaction as earlier.

Stepping back, he began the first hand sign sequence that he thought might open the portal. The chakra balance was critical when dealing with the mirror. Such a large crystal required a great deal of chakra channeled through it for activation, but couldn’t take any variation in the power level at risk of shattering the glass, meaning the user must exercise utmost control and a precise sequence of signs.

The crystal flashed and hummed with vibration, but the light died almost as soon as it appeared and returned to its blank-faced dormant state. Pain tried a second possible sequence of hand signs, then a third, and a fourth. The flashes of light grew brighter and longer, the vibrations hummed through the silent room. On the fourth attempt he thought he saw shadows moving in the glass that didn’t exist in his room. Thinking carefully, Pain considered each sign, its position, the sign preceding it, and the sign following it. This time he attempted to look at the combination with fresh eyes, assuming nothing from the earlier attempts, taking nothing for granted.

Questioning his own logic at each step, Pain narrowed the problems down. Eventually, he was fairly confident that the most-likely issue was with the last two signs. He changed them to a more stable combination and ran through the symbols again. This time, the mirror flashed, as though it were catching the glint of the sun. When the light faded, traveling down to the very bottom of the mirror and disappearing altogether, he found himself staring into a similar room in the Tower’s lower levels, but at the same time a room which was entirely different.

The reflected room was clean and whole containing an ANBU guard that faced the mirror with katana drawn.

“Who are you?” the ANBU demanded, stance ready for anything.

Pain didn’t bother answering. Instead, he drew out a scroll and began a more accurate chakra diagram of the activated looking glass. When finished, he stepped up closer to the glass and rested a finger against it. Probing, he sent a low stream of chakra into the glass and observed the reaction. The looking glass was solid, like a closed window. The barrier that prevented crossing between the two worlds consisted of both chakra and the physical material that made up the crystal. To send something over or bring something through it he would need to negate both barriers.

Satisfied, Pain stepped back and ran through the hand signs to deactivate the mirror. It took two attempts, as he needed to adjust his initial patterns, but now he had a much clearer understanding of how the mirror worked. Pain turned from the mirror, scroll in hand. He had more work to do.

* * *

Minato surveyed the young shinobi before him. Uchiha Itachi was one of the very few active duty members left in his clan. An internal dispute within the Uchiha clan several years ago had culminated into what could only be described as civil war. Tensions between the clan and the village that ran back as far as the time of the Shodai Hokage sparked an internal divide amongst the Uchiha as to whether they should remain with the village or separate. In the end, the question of secession turned family members against one another as the proud clan refused to publicize their internal dispute to the rest of the village and sought to resolve the issue without aide.

It was one of the greatest regrets of Minato’s tenure as Hokage and also the main reason he began experimenting with the Sandaime’s seeing glass. The shock of being woken in the middle of the night to find the members of one of Konoha’s oldest clans slaughtering each other over an undecided future was almost as bad as facing a loosed Kyūbi. It took all the ANBU in the village as well as himself and many jounin to finally stop the violence. In the end, many of the Uchiha shinobi died or were injured too gravely to continue their ninja careers.

Of those Uchiha who remained, more supported the village than not, much like the young Itachi, and were eventually allowed to return to active duty in a limited capacity. It had been difficult to convince the majority of the village that the remaining Uchiha were trustworthy, but after a long and careful PR campaign through the joint efforts of Minato and Uchiha Shisui, the clan gained guarded acceptance and members were finally beginning to return to the Konoha shinobi ranks.

It was in part due to Shisui’s reccomendation that Itachi was standing before Minato now. Shisui hoped that when others saw the Hokage assign Uchiha important missions again it would help affirm the clan’s trustworthiness. Minato too hoped that by putting Itachi in this role he would show both the villagers and the diminished clan that the Uchiha were still a valued and important asset to Konoha.

“I’m sure you heard the recent rumors concerning my son,” Minato began after a brief moment.

Itachi remained impassive. “Hai, Hokage-sama.”

“As you’ve been informed, my son’s existence and presence in the village is a confidential matter. The longer it takes for word to get out about my son the better.” Minato hesitated. He knew if he was going to have the young shinobi help guard Naruto, then Itachi would have to know the truth about the dangers he could potentially face. Itachi had proven his loyalty to the village time and time again, most notably when forced to choose between his own parents and the safety of the village. Minato had no doubts about his loyalty, but still revealing Naruto’s status as a Jinchūriki made him uncomfortable. “There is also something else…This is an SS class secret, I know you understand what that means… Naruto is the Kyūbi Jinchūriki.”

Itachi’s only noticeable reaction was a slight widening of the eyes, but Minato could tell the man was listening to every word he said and the gravity of the revelation was not lost on him.

“Naruto himself is not aware of this fact and it will be kept from him until I determine the time is right to tell him. That fact is also part of the reason I decided to add you to the protection detail. It is a possibility that he may…lose control of the Kyūbi’s chakra. The Sharingan is known for being able to suppress and control the bijū. If a situation occurs you, in particular, may be able to restrain the Kyūbi’s chakra.” Minato silently prayed that this would not be required, but for the protection of everyone involved they needed as many safeguards as possible.

“Is that how you hurt your hands, Hokage-sama?” Itachi inquired. The young shinobi didn’t generally ask questions, but when he did they were direct and straight to the point.

Minato watched Itachi for a moment. It was a balancing act, knowing just how much information to entrust to others while trying to maintain a maximum level of security.

Minato nodded once. “Yes, I was injured by the Kyūbi’s chakra… much of the Kyūbi’s chakra dispersed when it was briefly released eight years ago. That chakra has been re-centering around my son as he is the largest concentration of it and is thereby acting as a focal point. The situation has been remedied for the time being. We’re keeping him inside a safe zone, warded from any latent chakra by a seal I designed. You’ll also be issued chakra suppressants to carry on you at all times in case those seals fail. Hatake Kakashi and Nohara Rin are currently assigned to the same mission and also carry chakra suppressants with them.”

Itachi nodded in understanding. “What are the limits of the safe zone?”

“I’ve placed the seal along the walls of my home. Naruto should be safe from the Kyūbi’s dispersed chakra while he remains inside, however until I find a better solution he cannot leave the building, especially for long periods of time.” Minato didn’t know how long it would take for Naruto to feel the effects if he left the house. It had been several days before they became noticeable the first time, but that could have been due to Minato’s own unfamiliarity with the situation. Naruto had suffered nightmares every night before the seals were put in place, after all.

Minato’s thoughts wandered to Jiraiya, still unconscious and under Tsunade’s care. His sensei was an expert in espionage and covert operations. Minato seriously doubted Jiraiya would let anyone gain knowledge they should not have, especially concerning Naruto, but they still didn’t know what had happened to him and needed to take precautions. “There…may also be the possibility of other villages making an attempt to secure Naruto for the Kyūbi. I doubt I need to emphasize for you the importance of this mission,” Minato said, his expression deadly serious. “You must be prepared for danger, either from your ward or from foreign threats, at all times.”

“I understand, Hokage-sama,” Itachi said. His face was devoid of emotion, but determination burned in his eyes. Between rebuilding the clan’s trust, protecting the village and the remnants of his family, Minato knew Itachi bore a heavy burden on his shoulders and he would do whatever was necessary to fulfill his duty.

Satisfied, Minato nodded. He reached into his desk and pulled out a sealed scroll. “Give this to Kakashi when you get to the house. Oh…and be careful of booby traps. Naruto has a fondness for setting them in inconvenient places.”

Itachi didn’t react and Minato tried to imagine how the serious young ninja would react to opening a cabinet door and getting a face full of confetti, but failed. He handed the scroll over just as an urgent knock came to the door. Forming a few hand signs, he released the security seals around the door. “Come in.”

The ANBU captain set to guard the looking glass was already halfway into the room. Minato’s eyes narrowed his shoulders tensing. He nodded to Itachi, “Thank you, you’re dismissed.”

The Uchiha nodded, bowed, and moved out the door, eyes only glancing at the ANBU as the guard hurried through a bow. “Hokage-sama, there’s been an incident.”

* * *

Kakashi didn’t know how long he had been unconscious. When he came to, he was stiff, sore, in pain, and still exhausted. He was alive, though, and as long as he was alive he could still do something to fix the situation. The problem was what.

Shifting to get into a more comfortable position, Kakashi considered his situation and his options. He was behind enemy lines, by a fair distance considering how close the Hokage Tower had been the last time he saw it. There was a dead enemy soldier not too far away which could potentially tip off his presence and lead to his discovery. He was alone and injured with no realistic hope for rescue. Undoubtedly, by now the Hokage was aware of what had happened with the spy and that he hadn’t returned from his pursuit of the message. Kakashi was sure that the others would assume he had failed, had most likely been killed, and that the information in the diversionary scroll had been secured by the enemy.

Kakashi wasn’t sure what the direct consequences of the information leak would be. The information in the scroll had been altered from the original for an occasion just like this. However, like the Hokage said, there were enough elements of truth to still be dangerous, especially if the enemy had another source of information to reference. Their end goal was to capture Naruto. The war effort as a whole wasn’t in immediate danger, the operation could even be considered a success since they had captured the spy, but Naruto certainly was in danger.

So what could Kakashi do?

No matter what he chose, Kakashi knew he would need to rest first, so immediate action was out of the question. Moving painfully, he pulled out an emergency ration from his pouch and crunched down on it, determined to regain as much strength as he could. Even with the sleep he’d just gotten, Kakashi was dangerously close to chakra exhaustion. Days of fighting at the start of the invasion and the last several days rooting out the spy left little time to rest and rebuild his strength. His reserves were dangerously low and left him short on both physical strength and chakra. Lying still again, he ran through each possible course of action he could take.

 The first option Kakashi thought of was returning to his own lines. He could make his way back, report to the Hokage so the old man would know exactly what had happened and take measures to counter it instead of acting upon assumptions and guesswork. By doing so, Kakashi would be able to get medical help, rest, and eventually rejoin the fighting. However, it would also mean leaving the enemy free to pursue Naruto.

The second option was less practical, more dangerous, and less likely to succeed. Knowing the probable motivation of the enemy, Kakashi was sure he could find another way to stop them from reaching Naruto. Gaining the information to reach the boy was only the first step in the process. Even if Kakashi had failed to prevent the enemy from gaining the information, the ultimate goal of the operation had been to capture the spy and protect Naruto. They had captured the spy, now he just needed to ensure that Naruto was safe by disrupting any of the other steps the enemy needed to take in getting to Naruto.

If Kakashi decided to follow that second option, it meant he would need to remain behind enemy lines, even go further into enemy territory and sneak into the enemy-held and fortified Hokage Tower. It would mean delaying much needed medical attention, rest, and probably end with his death. However, if he succeeded, Naruto would be safe.

Steeling himself for the challenges ahead, Kakashi crunched down on another emergency ration. He wriggled his canteen up and took a few sips and debated the merit and dangers of attempting a nap. There was only one way which was certain to keep the enemy from getting to Naruto and it would take all that he had to accomplish it. If he destroyed the gateway then no one would be able to reach Naruto. Granted, it would mean no foreseeable way to bring the boy back to their side, but if it kept Naruto safe then there might not be any better option.

When he was ready and prepared, he would set out again, this time to destroy the Hokage’s looking glass.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is one of my favorite chapters. It has a little bit of everything. Hope you enjoyed it!


	15. Determination

**CHAPTER 15: Determination**

 “And he hasn’t returned?” Sarutobi confirmed, clamping his jaw down on his pipe. Of course Kakashi hadn’t returned. If he had then he would be reporting himself rather than Shikaku, who was standing before the Hokage with a worried expression. “How long ago did he start his chase?”

“Over twelve hours ago. He may have crossed over to enemy territory during his pursuit, in which case he most likely is in need of assistance.”

“If he is even still alive,” Sarutobi said, voicing what Shikaku hadn’t. They all knew it was a possibility, but loosing Kakashi would be a heavy blow against their fighting forces and morale. Many of the younger ninja in the village looked up to Kakashi. Few knew him on a truly personal level, but all knew and respected his reputation, and all of the upper level ninja trusted his skills and judgment.

“Kakashi is extremely resourceful,” Shikaku said, but they both were familiar with the reality of war. Sometimes resourcefulness just wasn’t enough.

“Assemble several long range surveillance experts,” Sarutobi said, glaring down at the battle map of Konoha, specifically at the lines separating the Konoha and Ame forces. “I want them positioned along the most likely routes Kakashi took and where the information would be brought.”

“The Hokage Tower seems to be their current headquarters.”

The Hokage nodded in agreement. “Have a team ready should the surveillance pick up any indication he’s still alive or needs help.”

Shikaku looked down at the map, studying the fronts and controlled areas in the village. “Asuma has successfully retaken the main and Northwestern gate from the Iwa forces. It has limited the area they control inside the city and weakened their other positions. We could draw a team from there and redirect it toward the rescue effort.”

“Be sure they get some rest if at all possible,” Sarutobi said, “Alert me if there is any movement or changes inside the Ame controlled territory.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama.” Shikaku bowed and left the room, another wave of shinobi bearing reports rushing through the door as he left.

Sarutobi received the news from the front lines, allowing it to pile up on his desk. They were beginning to turn the battle around, regaining lost ground and pushing some of the enemy forces back. The fight was far from over, but now he had a glimmer of hope that he would not be the last Hokage of Konoha. Looking down at the map before him, his eyes caught the area where Kakashi was last seen. He didn’t believe the Copy-nin was dead. Call it gut intuition or simple wishful thinking, but he believed Kakshi was too skilled to allow himself to be killed in such a simple manner. That meant Kakashi was alive out there and either couldn’t return or had decided against it.

_Where are you? What are you doing?_ Sarutobi couldn’t help but wonder before shaking his head and returning back to the stack of reports.

* * *

Kakashi didn’t know how long he slept. It had been dark when he first started chasing the paper but the sun was out when he finally woke, though it was muted by dust and smoke in the air. His throat was parched and his limbs had stiffened during the prolonged period of inactivity. The one good thing he could say about his condition was that he didn’t feel quite as exhausted anymore. He hadn’t meant to sleep so long, but if it gave him a little extra energy then it was well worth it.

Grimacing at himself, Kakashi pulled out a soldier pill. He’d been relying on them too much in the past week. It wasn’t healthy to take so many in such a short time but he didn’t have much of a choice. He needed as much strength as possible. Besides, the odds of him getting to the mirror and destroying it were unlikely, the odds of getting out and back to friendly lines again after the fact were astronomically dim. Getting out didn’t matter so much as blocking the enemy’s chance at obtaining Naruto. It was, potentially, his last chance to protect his sensei’s son, his comrades, and the Village since the enemy would undoubtedly use the Kyūbi as a weapon.

Wriggling another sip of water and only vaguely noting the small amount left in his canteen, Kakashi took a breath and pushed himself toward the edge of his hideaway. Moving hurt. It hurt a lot. For a few minutes, it took more effort than Kakashi liked until the soldier pill kicked in and dulled some of the pain. Then, the artificial energy took effect, buzzing through his limbs and pushing him the rest of the way into the open.

The sky was dimming, though it looked like there were still another few hours of muted sunlight before night truly fell. The half-light would help hide his movement as Kakashi made his way to the Tower. The distance wasn’t far, but remaining undetected was vital. He wasn’t in a condition to get into any more altercations with the enemy. He could really only afford one more fight and that would have to be quick, ideally ending with the Hokage’s looking glass shattered into a thousand unfixable pieces.

Kakashi moved through the rubble with slow caution, everything he had ever learned about stealth running through his mind. He didn’t know how long he had before the enemy made their move, but hurrying into the situation thoughtlessly would likely get him killed.

Crouched low, Kakashi dodged a group of Ame-nin. It wasn’t difficult. They sat in a circle around a small cooking fire propped against slabs of fallen off building in the street. One snored with his head tilted back and mouth hanging open, a red stained bandage wrapped around his forehead. The other three didn’t look much more awake, injuries visible in the dirty white bandages tied around various limbs and heads bent low between slumped shoulders.

The drawn out battle was wearing on both sides of the fight, Kakashi reflected as he moved past. He had to admit to himself, one advantage to being so far behind enemy lines was they never expected to find a Konoha-nin and therefore they never looked for one. The thought was a small comfort to him as he approached the shattered entrance to the Hokage Tower. At this point, surprise was the only thing he had going for himself.

* * *

Pain unrolled the seal for Konan as she stepped closer, checking his detailed work with a practiced eye. The Kunoichi wasn’t as skilled with fūinjutsu as he was and he wasn’t at the level he knew their sensei had achieved, but he never kept anything from Konan and a second pair of eyes always helped.

“This is the seal you designed,” Konan said, more of a statement than a question. Her eyes scanned over the wide sheet of paper. It took up a large portion of the room, spread out on the floor and crinkled along the walls where the furniture was pushed back.

Pain looked over his own work, eyes scanning for errors, trying to think through the possible unexpected outcomes of the untried seal. “It’s not the original the Hokage devised. I was not able to reconstruct his seal, even with the sources at my disposal, but it’s based off the same approach. In theory, it should work.” The original seal was hinted at in the information sent by their spy, but there was no complete example. He believed the partial seal he found in the destroyed scroll was a prototype of the seal, but had no way to know the completed version. The seal laid out before them was based on the partial seal but largely Pain’s own creation. Pain was certain that the original had been simpler, less circuitous, but he was unable to afford the time to refine it any farther.

“You tipped your hand when you opened the portal the first time. The Hokage in that world will be on his guard, set up defenses,” Konan cautioned as she stepped around the seal, touching parts of it as she examined specific portions.

Pain nodded, just a tip of his head in acknowledgement. “It was necessary to get the information needed for the seal.” Konan was right, though, it would make the next step in the plan that much more difficult. It would be like storming a fortress’s front gate rather than sneaking in through the back door. “We will need a way to bypass any defenses they put in place. We know our opponent is the Yondaime. His specialties are fūinjustu and speed.”

“He’ll have the area sealed with a containment barrier,” Konan said. “As well as guards.”

“There are already ANBU guards,” Pain agreed. The guards would not be a problem, more of an inconvenience. The barrier would be more of an obstacle. He frowned at the seal mulling over the problem.  It wasn’t the first time the obstacles on the other side of the mirror had occurred to him. He could use the Ningendo Path* to discover the way to open the barrier from the guards. One of them would have to know. If that did not work he could use the Gakidou Path** to weaken the barrier, absorbing the chakra that fueled it.

“Then, we’ll have to locate the Kyūbi, capture it, and return through the mirror,” Konan said as she returned to the Pain’s side. “Who are you going to send through for this?”

“Ningendo and Gakidou will get through any barriers placed by the Yondaime, Chikushodo*** can create a diversion during the search for the Kyūbi. I would like you to go as well. Gakidou will stay behind and protect the mirror while you and Ningendo find and retrieve the Kyūbi.” Pain bent down and began carefully folding the seal.

“You will be risking half your Paths should anything go wrong.” Konan moved around to the other side to help fold the large seal, mindful of places where chakra paper had to be attached to accommodate the large size. “We should send additional men as well. Their presence could increase the confusion within that Konoha as well as our chances of successfully retrieving the Kyūbi and returning.”

Pain paused in folding the seal. He looked up at his long time friend across the room. Konan stared at him with the neutral expression that she had adopted since Yahiko’s death and the disastrous event of Hanzou’s treachery. Her eyes, though, reflected the concern she held for him. He knew she followed him for his sake, more than dedication to the cause to which he had dedicated himself. If he decided to give it up and abandon the course they had set, then she would follow him without hesitation. If anything were to happen to her, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Sending extra men, though they likely wouldn’t help or even make it back to their original world, could increase Konan’s chances of remaining safe as well as retrieving the Kyūbi. He could replace any bodies he lost along the way, but Konan, his last friend, was too precious to risk needlessly. “Very well,” he said, returning to the half folded seal.

* * *

Jiraiya gasped, waking to a world of pain and an intense moment of panic. He couldn’t remember where he was for an instant, what had happened or was happening. All he could remember was the intense need to get away, to get back to Konoha. He needed to warn Minato…

“Jiraiya!” That was Tsunade’s voice, sounding tired, relieved, and worried all at once.

“What…?” Jiraiya fought against the blinding light assaulting his eyes. Bits of memory were floating back, but they were disjointed and didn’t make sense to him.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe. I’ll get you something for the pain,” Tsunade reassured him. Her voice moved away from the bed. “You were injured on a surveillance mission to Amegakure.”

Just like that everything snapped back into place, like a lock with all the tumblers falling into their proper positions. He tried to sit up, but fell back to the bed gritting his teeth against a groan. The pain was worse than the time when Tsunade had beaten him half to death. He gripped the bed, determined to try again.

“Stop moving,” Tsunade snapped, next to him again, “you’re going to injure yourself even more, you damn idiot.”

Jiraiya shook his head. He had to warn Minato. Yahiko… Nagato… Pain… Jiraiya still didn’t understand all of it, but he did know one thing. His former student had become a monster and more dangerous than he ever thought imaginable. “There’s more than one,” he gasped out fighting for breath in a room that seemed to hold too little oxygen.

“I _said_ hold _still_ ,” Tsunade growled, then continued loudly to herself, “fucking idiot, going off and almost getting himself killed…doesn’t know when to quit.”

Jiaraiya managed to get his eyes open in time to see Tsunade sliding a needle into an IV in his arm. “Warn…Minato…” Jiraiya gasped, near desperation, “There’s… more than one…of him…” He knew he wasn’t making a lot of sense, but couldn’t make the words come out right, couldn’t put all his thoughts in the right order.

“I’ll tell him,” Tsunade said. Her voice sounded farther away, the pain felt farther away, too. “You just rest a few more hours. The world won’t end in that time.”

Jiraiya’s last conscious thought was that he hoped she was right.

* * *

Naruto glanced sidelong at the new guard staying in the house. Kakashi and Rin seemed more like family, a brother and a sister rather than babysitters or guards so it was easy to have them there, but the new guy, Itachi, was clearly there for one reason: duty. It was Itachi’s job to be there, his mission to make sure that everything was safe and secure and he wasn’t concerned with anything else, much less having fun. Itachi was so serious and a little intimidating. Besides the jerk in his class, Sasuke, Naruto had never really met an Uchiha before and now they were all gone in the other Konoha. Naruto didn’t quite know how to react to the man now guarding him.

Looking down at the open book set across his lap, Naruto tried to ignore the shinobi’s presence in the room. Instead, he flipped the page and took in the pictures splayed out in front of him for probably the tenth time that day. It was a photo album that Minato had given to him just before leaving for some work… thing. Naruto had been too taken with the new gift to really listen. When his dad had given him the album it had originally been empty, but Minato also handed over the box of photos they looked through the other day saying that Naruto could choose which pictures to fill the album, so long as he was careful with them.

Naruto spent the rest of the morning combing through pictures. Some of them he had seen before when Minato first pulled out the box, but many were new and all of them had his mother in them. He couldn’t remember being so careful and meticulous with anything in his entire life. He checked each picture against the other, tried to find the happiest, funniest photos he could before sliding them into the clear sleeves inside the book. Now, Naruto was just checking, once again, if all the pictures fit, in case there was one he wanted to swap out from the box before giving the extra photos to Itachi-san to be put away.

Movement from the other side of the room drew Naruto’s head up to his guard once again. Itachi had moved from his position at the table to the window and was staring out across the lawn with a faint frown across his face. The Uchiha’s eyes narrowed and turned red as Naruto’s own widened. Naruto shifted around to better see Itachi’s face, then finally got up from his seat and moved next to his guard. He looked at Itachi’s intense red eyes then out the window and back. Naruto couldn’t see anything remarkable enough to stare at across the expanse of grass, trees, and bordering wall.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” Naruto finally asked, giving up on trying to find what was so interesting in the yard and focusing on the far more interesting set of red eyes next to him.

Itachi’s gaze cut away from the window and honed in on Naruto. His eyes faded back to their original dark hue and his expression passed from intense concentration to calm indifference. He regarded Naruto a moment before speaking. “There’s nothing wrong with my eyes, Naruto-kun. It’s an ability unique to my clan.”

Naruto’s eyebrows shot up in interest. “Like a ninja technique? Is it really cool? What does it do?”

Itachi turned from the window and moved back toward the table and the scroll he had been reading. “It’s an eye technique, but more like a physical ability than the standard ninjutsu you learn in the academy.” He paused, sitting down at the table and taking up the scroll again, but looking at Naruto as he said, “Simply put, it allows me to see and understand.”

Naruto frowned, glancing back out the window across the grounds. It looked still and quiet, a silent breeze moving the tree branches beyond the pane. “I don’t see anything.” He looked back to Itachi.

Itachi’s eyes moved to the window, looking past Naruto as the faintest frown returned to his face. “No,” he agreed after a moment, turning his gaze down to the scroll.

Naruto frowned in confusion. He looked from Itachi to the window a few more times, before shrugging and moving back to the couch. Halfway across the room he stopped as a shudder ran through him. A moment later, he could hear the front door snap closed and the unsettling sensation was gone. Shaking his head, he glanced back at Itachi only to find the shinobi staring at him.

The dark eyes cut away as soon as Naruto caught them and Itachi rose from his chair. He moved toward the sitting room door and swung it open just as Kakashi’s voice came through.

“I’m back.” Kakashi appeared in the open door. He nodded to Itachi before strolling over to Naruto still seated on the couch. Kakashi dropped a bag down next to Naruto, saying, “You can add these to your collection.”

Naruto craned his neck, opening up the shopping bag. Inside was another album, still covered in plastic wrap and sporting a price tag. With it was a large envelope. He pulled out the envelope and looked inside to find more photographs, including not just Naruto’s mother, but his father, Kakashi, Rin, and even the old Pervert, Jiraiya. Having those pictures, even if he hadn’t been there for the moments captured on film, was the sort of thing real families had.

“Thank you Kakashi-niisan!” Naruto cried, launching himself forward to hug Kakashi around the man’s waist.

“Mah,” the one eyed shinobi said, “It was Rin’s idea first and there aren’t any of you yet, we’ll have to get a camera.” He gently shook off Naruto, patting him absently on his head. “Besides if it keeps you busy from…other things, then I’m all for it.”

Naruto laughed. “Don’t worry! I’m gonna get Itachi-san next! You’re safe until then.”

“You should take that threat seriously, Itachi-san,” Kakashi said, glancing back at the other man.

Itachi nodded. “I’ll keep an eye out,” he said with all the seriousness of the world. He glanced from the window to the door before shifting his eyes back to Kakashi. “Could I have a word, Kakashi-san?”

Kakashi looked at Itachi and Naruto looked between the two men. They were doing that thing that adults did when they wanted to talk about something without a kid around.

“Of course,” Kakashi said, moving to the door.

Itachi followed, closing the sitting room door firmly behind him. Naruto watched them go from the room, curiosity eating away at him when the door shut. Ever since his talk with Minato and especially since learning that Minato was his father and he was wanted and had a home, Naruto was deliberately trying to be good. A part of him still didn’t want to give the people in the New Konoha a reason to send him back to the Old Konoha. He also wanted to make his father proud.

However, the lure to peak in on a conversation between the two shinobi was too great to resist. Setting down the envelope, Naruto crept to the door and eased it open till he could peer through with one eye. Kakashi and Itachi were standing out in the entrance hall. They spoke in low tones that failed to carry words back to Naruto’s position, but the boy could tell from their expressions it was something serious.

Then, Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate revealing his other eye and moved to the window. Naruto frowned as he watched the two men gazing out the front window. The low tones coming from the hall meant they were still talking, but no more comprehensible from Naruto’s position than a moment before as he strained to hear. Itachi gestured to the door and then to the seal painted on it and Kakashi settled into a considering pose. The silver haired ninja then said something and disappeared up the stairs.

Itachi turned back to the sitting room. Naruto didn’t bother dodging back inside as the Uchiha’s gaze fell upon him. He moved to the side as Itachi came back into the room and sat back down at the table. “What did you see?” he asked, looking back to the window overlooking the yard. It looked just as normal outside as it had moments ago.

“Nothing,” Itachi said, pulling open his reading.

The door swung open and Kakashi reappeared, carrying a small can of paint and brush. He turned around and began painting the same symbol lining the outer walls on the door to the sitting room. Naruto frowned at him, opening his mouth to ask another question.

Kakashi cut him off before he could get a word out though. “I’m sure Minato-sensei would love to see the second album when he gets home from his duties. You better get started on it, Naruto-kun, if you want to finish in time.”

Naruto huffed turning back to the couch and the abandoned albums and pictures. He sat down and pulled the new photo book Kakashi brought into his lap but paused before doing anything else. He watched Kakashi draw the seal on the door and then move a few feet along the wall before starting it in a new place. Naruto’s eyes slid to the neat line of seals already marked on the outer wall and then to the window and the yard beyond. He still couldn’t see anything more than a bright summer day that he wasn’t allowed outside to enjoy, but there was something else too. The small shudder that ran through Naruto this time had nothing to do with the front door opening.

* * *

The Tower was a wreck. Creeping through the halls, Kakashi cringed to think how many repairs they would have to make to get the building back to its former state, if that was even possible. Then, there were the stark reminders of the fierce battle over the important land mark. Blood smears dotted the walls and floors in thick splotches, blackened from time and dust, some undoubtedly from Konoha ninjas defending the halls with their lives before finally being ordered out and falling back.

Kakashi moved from shadow to shadow, straining every sense and analyzing every disturbance. Moving through the building was much more difficult than the grounds outside. There were more people in here and there was less room to dodge out of view. He thought about using a transformation jutsu, but couldn’t afford wasting the chakra. He’d taken another soldier pill once inside the building, fully expecting to eventually get into a fight at some point inside the Tower. His luck had held so far, though, and he was close to the target.

Slipping into the staircase leading to the lowest levels, Kakashi increased his speed. The longer he stayed in the hallways the more of a chance there was for discovery. He had visited the lowest levels many times for his ANBU duties. The rooms were designed based on the classification of their contents. The farther along the corridor the more sensitive and dangerous the information got, giving guards a little more time to react should anyone attempt to infiltrate and steal anything. There were also safe guards to keep unauthorized individuals out of the increasingly restricted sections of the hall, making it difficult to progress the farther a person went if they didn’t have access or an escort.

Following that logic, Kakashi guessed he would find the looking glass in one of the last rooms of the hall, where the highest security sections were located. Moving along, he could tell that the various protective seals had been deactivated, but that was to be expected. He wasn’t sure if he hoped the looking glass’s room was still sealed or not. The Sandaime said that the enemy had mostly likely found the looking glass, but that was just a speculation.

Everything pointed to the room already being opened, but Kakashi quickly ran a scenario through his mind on what he would do if the looking glass wasn’t compromised yet. He could either leave or break into the room and destroy it anyway. A strong part of him said to destroy it either way, but he put the final decision off until he knew for certain.

Coming to the end of the hall, Kakashi was glad he didn’t waste the effort worrying about the room not being opened. He could see the large hole in the wall from a long way down the corridor. There was a light, too, and voices. The light spilling from the hole created two long shadows down either side of the corridor, which Kakashi used to draw closer.

The voices were low and almost indistinguishable. Kakashi would have only been able to pick out a few words in the best of circumstances, but it was not the best circumstances and Kakashi couldn’t make out anything.

Kakashi crept to the door, staying in the darks corners and smothering any chakra that might be picked up by the occupants of the room. The effort taxed his already exhausted frame and he was glad he took one more soldier pill before slipping into the Tower. It filled his limbs with jittery energy that wasn’t healthy in the long term, but if Kakashi was honest with himself, he knew long term health was not something he needed to worry about at this point in time.

In an initial sweep, Kakashi counted at least eight jounin level shinobi in the room. Five of them wore black cloaks with red and white clouds across them. He’d heard some intel concerning a rising criminal organization with cloaks matching that same description. However, the information they’d received was vague and largely unconfirmed. The only thing Kakashi knew for certain was that the members were extremely dangerous, high leveled shinobi.

And there were five of them in that room.

For a moment, Kakashi felt torn. This was vital information for the village. He didn’t know why the black cloaked figures hadn’t participated in the fighting yet, but he did know that if they got actively involved in the battle the exhausted Konoha forces would not be able to stand against them. The Hokage would need to know that the enemy forces had high ranking shinobi that had yet to even enter the battle, but that very same fact gave Kakashi pause. Why hadn’t they helped in the fighting?

Kakashi thought back to the Hokage’s theory on the reasoning behind the invasion: to diminish Konoha’s military strength and to capture the Kyūbi. Konoha’s military was already deeply damaged by the invasion. Even if the Village managed to push out the invaders sooner than expected they would still be recovering for years to come. The loss of men, materials, and facilities was a devastating blow for the hidden village. In every respect, that first goal was already achieved. The only thing left was securing the Kyūbi and here were possibly the highest level shinobi the enemy had about to embark on a mission to do precisely that. If that was really the case, and everything did point to it, then the best way for Kakashi to derail the enemy’s plans was still to destroy the mirror.

Considering the eight obstacles between Kakashi and his goal, it was a task easier said than done.

On the other side of the room, Kakashi could see the mirror, a black polished chakra crystal reflecting the torches around the room. A flash swept across the mirror and the dark surface disappeared replaced by the image of a similar room glowing with its own light. He couldn’t make out any more of the other side of the glass, but it didn’t matter. He was more concerned with what was happening on his side of the mirror.

The Ame-nin had spread out a seal drawn on large pieces of chakra paper stuck together. It covered the floor in front of the mirror, draped over rubble from the damaged walls and door. The three shinobi dressed in standard jounin uniforms stood off to the side while the five black cloaked figures were gathered around the glass itself. One of them was crouched before the glass circled by the others. From his position, Kakashi guessed that he had activated the mirror.

The situation was worse than Kakashi had thought. Clearly, the enemy had already determined how to activate the mirror. Looking down at the seal, he wondered if they were attempting to transport troops through the mirror. From what he could see, the seal spread out on the floor was different from the one devised by the Hokage, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t work. There was more than one way to skin a cat, or perform a technique in this case.

The seal began to glow. The glow spread over the seal and to the mirror making the looking glass glow with additional light and Kakashi knew his time was running out. His gut told him the shinobi gathered in that room were preparing to go after Naruto. Beyond the looking glass itself, he didn’t know if any other barriers stood between Naruto and his pursuers. He thought he could hear voices from the other side of the mirror, but they were too low to make out and his view of the other world too obscured to see what was happening on that side.

Kakashi silently checked his few supplies in his hip pack. There was a smoke bomb, several explosive tags, and a few shuriken, hardly the size of arsenal he’d want when taking on eight jounin on his own. He was running through the possible plans of assault he could take when his one advantage was suddenly stripped away from him in an instant.

A force, Kakashi couldn’t describe what exactly, grabbed at him, pulling him toward the room and away from his cover. He barely had time to substitute himself with a shadow clone, allowing the clone to be dragged out into the midst of the group. The clone managed to grab one of the sides to the broken doorway, clinging on as the force pulled its feet off the ground.

Kakashi knew the clone wouldn’t last long given his current charka levels. His surprise was ruined and he had to act quickly if he still wanted to salvage the situation.

Apparently, the enemy had similar constraints for time because the figure kneeling on the ground spoke. “Go through,” he commanded, “There is not much time before the alarms sounds, if it hasn’t been sounded already. I’ll take care of the one here.”

Kakashi grabbed the smoke bomb from his pack, eyes fixed on the events in the room from his position. His clone still held on to the broken doorway, grunting with the exertion it took. The other figures turned back to the looking glass and moved forward. One of the red headed figures entered the mirror first. He pushed against the surface and, after a moment, sank through to the other side. Kakashi heard shouts coming from the mirror, probably from a guard stationed on the other side by that world, but they were muffled and not his concern at the moment. The other figures followed quickly, pushing through the barrier, two of the black robed figures first, then the jounin, and finally the blue haired woman.

Urgency clawed at Kakashi as one by one he watched them pass through the glass. He pulled out one of the kunai left and prepared for his entrance. The clone was slipping and that would be the end of his deception. Just as the clone lost its grip, Kakashi leapt out from his hiding place throwing the smoke bomb down in the room.

Thick, black smoke billowed out masking Kakashi’s entrance. The advantage only lasted for a moment when that unknown forced pushed the smoke back to the edges of the room creating a circular cleared area around the black robed figure. Kakashi’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the force wasn’t as strong as when he’d nearly been pulled out of his cover. Kakashi searched for the reason why. It could be a possible weakness he could exploit.

In a flash of insight, Kakashi spotted it. Not five feet from the man was the looking glass. He didn’t want to damage to device or risk breaking the connection with his unknown jutsu. The man hadn’t even moved from his position crouched in front of the mirror, hands still up in the hitsuji sign. He had to focus on both the mirror and Kakashi at the same time.

Through the mirror, Kakashi could hear sounds of another battle playing out, but he had no time to look. When the smoke disappeared, he immediately jumped back into the remnants clinging to the edges of the room. He had barely landed and made his observations when he moved again. He darted toward the mirror, throwing his kunai at the man and pulling out a second. Two kunai left in his pouch.

Kakashi threw the second kunai just as the man pushed away his first. The man caught the second kunai, still not moving from his position and leaving one hand in the ram symbol. The movement wasn’t lost on Kakashi. Perhaps the man had a recovery time after using his power?

There wasn’t any time to dwell on the matter though. As soon as the man caught the kunai, he pointed it at Kakashi again and it shot forward. Kakashi dodged to the side. Intending to take advantage of a possible recovery time his opponent had, he leapt toward the mirror, charging a hand with a weak chidori. He would cut right through the center of the mirror and hope the defending forces on the other side could handle the shinobi that had already slipped through.

However, either he was mistaken about the recovery time or it was too short a period to take advantage of, because Kakashi didn’t make it half way to the looking glass before he was ripped off his feet and dragged toward the man. He barely had time to turn and look before intense pain sliced through him. Partly from reaction and partly as a counter attack, Kakashi struck out with his chidori already waiting in his hand. He cut up through whatever had impaled him and into his opponent’s shoulder.

Kakashi stumbled back, struggling to breathe and stay up right on his feet. He glanced down noticing with an unnerving disassociation the thick metal rod sticking out of his middle. He couldn’t think clearly enough to guess what damage it had done, what organs it had hit. He was having a hard time just keeping his vision from blacking out and the world from falling over. His back slammed into a wall jolting him with pain and making him gasp. He desperately tried to use some leverage to push himself upright as he noticed the rage in the man’s eyes before him.

Kakashi dimly realized his opponent had strange, rippled eyes, something he hadn’t seen from his previous positions. It was just his luck to choose an opponent with some new and powerful dojutsu. He groped for another kunai struggling to keep balance, but he was falling backwards, something which shouldn’t have been possible with the wall behind him. Any chance to reason it out was destroyed when Kakashi hit the floor, though.

Pain racked through him from the impact as Kakashi struggled to take a breath. He choked then fought to pull down his mask as he coughed out a mouthful of blood. Another came as he tried to keep his lungs clear enough to simply breath. Around him, the sounds of an intense battle raged, but Kakashi could do nothing beside struggle to breathe and expel the fluids choking him. With each body-wracking movement, his strength drained away, most of it from the soldier pills he’d taken earlier. Time slowed and took on a surreal, dreamlike quality that was difficult to cut through. Part of Kakashi thought he must have already fallen unconscious because the last thing he registered was Minato-sensei racing past him and that was impossible. After all, Minato was long since dead.

TBC…

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Ningendo Path: this was the form Pain used to read people’s minds and then pull their souls out of their bodies.
> 
> ** Gakidou Path: this was the form Pain used to absorb chakra in any form
> 
> *** Chikushodo Path: the form Pain used for summoning techniques
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	16. The Invasion

 

**Chapter 16: The Invasion**

Minato sat by Jiraiya’s bedside, frowning down at the notes in his lap. Faint sounds of the hospital beyond floated in through the closed door. Initially, Jiraiya had been too unstable to move to the hospital and when he was finally out of danger Tsunade had him transferred to a private room at Konoha’s general hospital to better monitor his recovery. Though the danger was over, the Sannin would be weak for some time to come, confined to bed with orders to rest. Or else.

 Jiraiya had been sleeping deeply since Tsunade gave him the pain reliever the first time he woke, but according to the medical ninja he should be coming round again soon. Minato hoped he would be there for it and then he could ask about Jiraiya’s mysterious message: “There’s more than one of him.”

Minato noticed something stir from the bed. He sat up, sliding forward in his seat eyes locked onto Jiraiya’s face. “Sensei?”

Jiraiya groaned, shifting under the sheets as his face scrunched. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around the room half awake. “Minato?”

“I’m here,” Minato said, pulling his chair closer and dropping his most recent project, possible ways to seal the mirror, into his lap. He grabbed the cup of water from the night stand as he caught Jiraiya’s searching hand. “Have some water.”

One hand behind Jiraiya’s head, Minato helped his sensei take a few sips from the cup before placing the water back by the bed.

“Sake would be better,” Jiraiya moaned, face scrunching again in discomfort.

“That’s between you and Tsunade,” Minato said settling back into his chair. “I’m just following the doctor’s orders and right now she’s more of a threat than you.”

“Fine,” Jiraiya huffed. “How long have I been out?”

“Almost two days. You’re lucky Rin was there when you appeared. She was able to start treatment immediately, shaved some time off your recovery and probably saved your life.” Minato thought about asking about the fight, but he didn’t want to push his Sensei too fast too soon. He could give the older man a few minutes to orientate himself and wake up a little more.

“I’ll have to thank her,” Jiraiya said, closing his eyes a moment before opening them again and looking at Minato. He took a moment to focus, a worried frown covering his face. “What happened to your hands?”

Minato looked down at his bandaged hands. His sleeves covered the true extent of the injuries, which was just fine with him. “There…was an incident,” Minato said, looking down at the notes in his laps and shuffling them around. He glanced up and found Jiraiya staring at him. “The latent chakra from the Kyūbi has been gravitating to Naruto, causing his nightmares, affecting his moods. One night it just became too much for him.”

“And he lost control,” Jiraiya finished, glaring up at the ceiling. “I guess we should have seen that coming. The seal he has lets the Kyūbi’s chakra leak out, it would only make sense it would also be a way for chakra to leak _in_ ,” he grumbled, disgusted with his own oversight.

Minato shrugged, hindsight was twenty-twenty. “I’ve sealed off the house from the latent chakra. He should be safe for the time being. What did you learn in Amegakure?” Minato put a restraining hand on Jiraiya’s shoulder when the injured man tried to push himself up into a sitting position. It didn’t take much effort to hold his sensei down.

Jiraiya stopped struggling with a baleful glare at Minato. His white face and the beads of perspiration on his forehead betrayed him, though. “The country itself is still trapped in civil war, though things seem to have fallen into a stalemate. Hanzou’s dead, but a few of his generals were able to rally the last of their men in the eastern half of the country. The most worrying thing, though, is Pain.”

“He is here, then? What did you mean, ‘there’s more than one of him’? Is Pain the one you were talking about?” Minato had to bite his tongue to keep anymore questions from coming out in a rush. He’d been working on assumptions and half clues ever since the entire thing had started, he was more than ready to get some real information with which he could work.

Jiraiya held up both hands in a halting gesture, wincing as he brought one of them up to his head. “Yes, he’s here, and just as much of a mystery as the one we saw in the mirror.” Stopping a moment, Jiraiya took in a steady breath and let it out again. Minato let his sensei collect his thoughts before continuing. “You remember I said Nagato had the Rinnegan, but that it was Yahiko on the other side of the mirror?”

Minato nodded. That discrepancy had been one of the reasons underlying Jiraiy’s misadventure.

“I ran into the same thing in Amegakure. Yahiko’s face with Nagato’s Rinnegan. It was Nagato, though. Despite what he looked like, I’m positive it was him. He called himself Pain and he’s the leader of the anti-Hanzou faction.” Jiraiya shifted in his bed, eyes focused on the ceiling.

“Was he as powerful as you thought?” Minato asked, needing to know what they would be going up against.

His sensei nodded, grimacing at the memory. “More powerful than I thought he would be. I had to use my sage mode to even stand a chance…There was more than one of him.”

A wave of dread washed through Minato. He gripped the arms on the chair a moment, feeling the still sharp sting from the burns cut into his palms. Jiraiya was beaten while he was using his senjutsu abilities, not just beaten but almost killed. Minato never expected to face an opponent as powerful as that and with his hands still injured. “What do you mean, more than one of him?”

Jiraiya shook his head, loose white hair flopping over his face. “I don’t know how, but he had more than one body. They weren’t clones. They were different people, but they all had the red hair, piercings, and the Rinnegan. I’ve never seen anything like it before…”

Minato ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t like what he was hearing one bit. “Did you notice any weaknesses? Anything we could take advantage of in a fight?”

Jiraiya rubbed his hands across his eyes. He was silent a moment, eyes closed and deep frown on his face. “Their vision was linked,” he said slowly as he sifted through his memory. “They could see what the other was seeing so when they fought together in close quarters there were almost no blind spots. Separating them out and conducting one on one or two on one battles would help mitigate that… They also only used one technique each, summoning technique, a chakra absorption technique, and a technique to attract or repel both physical objects and jutsu.”

Minato was silent a moment as he considered the intel. “So you only saw three bodies?” he asked.

Jiraiya snorted, “As if three of them weren’t enough. They didn’t seem affected by physical injury or pain, worked in perfect unison, and there’s no way to tell if there are more bodies or not.” He grunted in pain as he shifted to another position. Jiraya glanced back to Minato, this time looking at the stack of paper and notebooks in Minato’s lap. “What’s that?” Jiraiya asked, gesturing to the papers in Minato’s hands.

Minato looked down at his latest project, half his thoughts still on the information concerning Amegakure and Pain. “It’s a contingency plan, an emergency stop for the mirror. This seal should disrupt the chakra paths and immediately cut the connection.” Minato picked up the papers, leafing through them as he slumped in his seat. He ran a hand over his face and let out a heavy sigh. “Unfortunately, I don’t know what that will do to the mirror itself. It might make the crystal inert, destroying any chance at contacting that other world again…”

Jiraiya’s tired, half lidded eyes watched him for a moment before voicing Minato’s thoughts. “And you can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“No,” Minato admitted, scrubbing at his head. His blond hair stuck up at all ends when he pulled his hand away, messier than normal. “We know the Pain we saw in the mirror has a version of himself in the Amegakure of our own world. We know he’s extremely dangerous and hostile,” Minato gestured to Jiraiyas figure laid out on the bed, “As demonstrated by yourself. We also know in that other world he was dangerous and determined enough to invade Konoha. Is he planning to do something similar in this world? The potential for intelligence with the mirror is as great as the danger it presents. At the moment, we know they can activate the mirror, but can they come through? From what we understood only the Sandaime had that ability, that’s no guarantee though…”

Minato fell silent, frowning down at the floor, elbows propped on the arms of the chair and hands clasped against his chin. He could see Jiraiya watching him in his periphery. His sensei didn’t say anything, just watched with a sad expression as the Hokage struggled with his burdens of responsibility.

“I’m glad I opened the looking glass if for no other reason than I have Naruto now, but…I’ve also put the village in grave danger… am _still_ putting it in danger. Do I have the right to be so selfish?”

Eventually, Jiraiya reached out a shaky hand and laid it on Mintao’s knee. “Minato-chan,” he said, making Minato look up at him.

Minato’s thoughts flashed to a time when he was still a child, just out of the academy with no concept of the challenges and heart break that he would face. Then, the moment was gone and he was back in his seat, looking at his Sensei lying injured and bedridden, feeling tired, worried, and old.

“You had no way to know this would happen and now that you’re in the situation you’re doing the best you can. That’s all anyone can ask of you. Despite what your many admirers say, you’re not a God, you’re just a man and doing your best in the circumstances.” Jiraiya paused, letting his message sink in before continuing, “And don’t let me hear you reproach yourself for trying to grab a little happiness. You have a right to it as much as anyone and you’ve already sacrificed enough as it is.”

Minato thought about what Jiraiya said in silence for a moment. The last eight years of his life had been so wrapped up in the village it was difficult to justify putting any part of him or anything else first. Perhaps, he didn’t have to think of it as an either/or decision, though. Both Naruto and the village needed protecting. He would just have to figure out a way to protect both at the same time.

“Now, what’s this about Pain opening the mirror from his end?” Jiraiya asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

Heaving a sigh, Minato was grateful for the change in subject, but wished that the conversation could have turned to something less troubling. “The other day the ANBU guards reported that the mirror was activated. Pain was on the other side. He didn’t say or attempt anything, just made observations for a few minutes and then shut the mirror down again.”

“He’s learning quick,” Jiraiya grunted, straining to push himself into a more upright position, only to be stopped by Minato a second time. Jiraiya grimaced but lay still. “So this new seal you have, it’s a last resort measure then.”

Minato nodded, looking back down at his papers.

“Let me see,” Jiraiya held out a shaky hand.

“Oh no.” Minato shook his head, pulling the papers closer to his chest. “Tsunade will have my head if I let you strain yourself. You’re resting, that means no work.”

“I’m going to go nuts just lying here all day,” Jiraiya grumbled, but his hand dropped immediately back to the bed.

“Maybe I’ll set up some seals around the room and let Naruto keep you occupied. He can talk your ear off about ramen and the differences between the two worlds’ miso-pork flavor.” Minato watched Jiraiya’s heavy eyes blink as they wandered over the room. “Though I have a feeling you’ll be sleeping most of the time.”

“Not likely,” Jiraiya fought through a yawn.

Minato shook his head. “Sleep. You’re not going to be any good to anyone if you don’t let yourself rest and recover.”

“Just as pushy as Tsunade,” Jiraiya grumbled, but his eyes were already closed and his voice slurred as he slipped into sleep.

Waiting a moment to make sure his sensei was definitely asleep, Minato gathered his things and quietly moved out of the room. He left the hospital using a side door to avoid any additional attention. He was already a little late for lunch but started walking through the streets taking the longer route home. Rin and Kakashi knew he would be stopping by to visit Jiraiya. They would either hold it for him or save him some leftovers. The talk with Jiraiya had given him plenty to think about and he needed a few extra moments to clear his head before arriving home and seeing Naruto.

Minato didn’t get more than a block from the hospital when an ANBU appeared next to him

“Hokage-sama! They’re attacking through the mirror,” The ANBU said without preamble.

The words barely left her mouth when an explosion rocked through the village. Ice growing in his chest, Minato spun and looked toward the Tower and the cloud of black smoke rising into the sky. In an instant, a huge dog appeared, except it was a twisted version of a dog with three heads, wings, and a large piercing through its muzzle. Screams rose up from the area and alarms sounded as the dog began a rampage.

“Hokage-sama!” one of the shinobi near him called, looking for orders.

Minato didn’t bother turning to him, eyes still on the attack upon his village. “Jounin will contain and defeat the summons, its shinobi, and any other invading forces. Genin will evacuate civilians from the Village and lead them to the shelters. They are not to go into the area immediately surrounding the battle. Chunin will conduct evacuations in the area of battle itself as well as protect the evacuation efforts.”

Minato looked to the ANBU still standing next to him, ignoring the “Hai, Hokage-sama,” from the few surrounding shinobi as they disappeared to carry out and spread his orders. “Have Kakashi meet me at the tower, Rin and Itachi are to stay at the house and guard Naruto. They are to leave the house only if there is no other option, make sure they understand that.” Then, not waiting to hear any acknowledgement, he flashed to his office.

The cries of distress and sounds of battle were closer when he arrived. Glancing out the window on his way to the door, Minato could see debris and damage already in the street. Running out into the corridor he found more disarray as clerks hurried through the hall, securing, sealing, and moving documents. A few stopped and noticed his arrival, calling out in relief.

“Hokage-sama!”

“Now Hokaga-sama’s here he’ll take care of everything!”

“They’re in the lower levels, Hokage-sama!”

Darting past everyone without stopping to acknowledge their calls, Minato ran for the stairs. The floor shook a moment and dust dropped from the ceiling as an explosion detonated nearby closely accompanied by an outraged roar. The sound didn’t seem like it would come from a dog, even one twisted and deformed like the monster he’d seen outside. Minato hoped that the intruder responsible hadn’t summoned more creatures to assist in the assault. He would trust his ANBU and Jounin to contain the enemy forces, for the moment. It was far more important to cut off the enemy’s possibility of reinforcements or escape through the mirror.

Coming down to the first floor, Minato rushed past the main entrance. Careening around the turn to the next set of stairs, his gaze locked on the sight before him. Where there should have been a row of offices, walls, and a ceiling there was instead a large hole, blue sky peering through buildings and the hectic street view beyond the Tower walls. Minato increased his speed, leaping down the broken staircase into the lower levels below. He prayed his seal would work, he needed to end the battle quickly before the enemy could gain a foothold.

* * *

Naruto made his way around the kitchen table, setting dishes down as he moved past each seat. Lunch was late today and not ramen, again, but they had added one more place setting at the table and that made up for everything. He still thought Itachi was weird and quiet and a little intimidating, but Naruto was getting used to it. The new guard wasn’t nearly as stern as he appeared to be at first. Plus, Itachi had a younger brother. When he had found that out, Naruto’s first reaction was that maybe he could get a friend his own age. Then he’d found out that younger brother was the jerk-faced Sasuke. Still, he reminded himself, this was New Konoha. Perhaps the Sasuke here wouldn’t be the stuck-up showoff that he was in Naruto’s Old Konoha.

The more he thought about it, the more Naruto realized that the reasons for people not liking him in the old world just didn’t exist here, as far as he could tell. In the Old Konoha, he’d been alone, an orphan, and he had a reputation for always causing trouble. Here, in the New Konoha, he not only had a dad, but his dad was the Hokage. Minato even said he was allowed one prank a day, so they couldn’t label him a trouble maker just for a few pranks if he was allowed. It meant he would be able to have a group of real friends, maybe even a best friend.

Naruto frowned as he made a second trip around the table setting down glasses next to the plate. The immediate people who came to mind were Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba. They had played with him. Even if they had never been close, maybe here they could all be real friends. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

Passing close to the wall as he placed the last two cups down, Naruto’s eyes glanced over the black seal painted on the wall, like every other wall through the house. His plans for making new and ever increasing numbers of friends in this new world would have to wait until he was allowed outside again, a prospect on which he was honestly torn.

 “Rin-neesan?” Naruto asked, pausing after he set down the last glass.

“Yes, Naruto-chan?” Rin asked, head still bent over the counter. She wasn’t working on lunch, that was already done. She was looking over some medical report that was too complicated for Naruto to understand when he had asked about it.

Naruto looked from Rin back to the window, focusing first on the scene outside then the black markings drawn around the room at regular intervals. “What are the seals for?”

There was a pause, then a sigh from Rin’s end of the room. Naruto looked up and found the kunoichi watching him. “Figures I’d be the one you asked when you got around to it,” Rin muttered as she moved to the table. “Sit down, Naruto-chan.”

Naruto pulled out the nearest chair and sat down at the end of the table. He watched as Rin settled herself, growing trepidation in his stomach at her serious expression. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it, opened it, then closed it, a grimace flashing across her face before it smoothed out again. The struggle made her look vaguely like a fish and would have been funny to watch if Naruto wasn’t getting so nervous waiting for the answer.

“It’s difficult to explain. It’s a very complicated matter,” Rin said slowly, furrowed gaze on the table. She looked up at Naruto. “The simplest way to put it is they’re there for our protection.”

Naruto’s frown deepened. His first reaction was to think that they were safe in the village, but the Old Konoha hadn’t been safe and there was definitely something outside the house trying to get in, he could feel it every time the door opened. “Are they keeping back the thing outside?”

Rin’s face pinched with worry and confusion. “What thing outside?”

Scrunching his face as he thought, Naruto slouched back in the chair, folding his arms over his chest. “It’s hard to describe. There’s something out there, but I can’t see it. I think Itachi-san and Kakashi-niisan can, but they say they can’t see anything either.” He ducked his head running his hands over it. “This is too confusing!”

“Calm down, Naruto-chan.” Rin gently tipped Naruto’s chin up till he was looking at her again. “We’re going to figure all of this out. Now just tell me what you can.”

“I don’t know!” Naruto said throwing out his arms. “It’s…it’s more like a feeling than anything else. Like there’s something out there waiting to get in, but there isn’t anything!”

Rin thought for a moment and opened her mouth, but a loud explosion from outside cut off any reply she was about to make. Her mouth immediately snapped shut and her eyes flew to the window behind the blond. Naruto flinched at the sound and spun in his seat, twisting around to look. His eyes found the curling smoke rising up over trees and roofs in the distance.

Rin’s chair roughly scrapped the floor as she jumped up, toppling it in her haste and in the next instant she was at the window. She turned and grabbed Naruto’s arm pulling him out of his chair and toward the door. “C’mon, let’s get you someplace more secure. There’s a secure shelter in the basement.”

“What’s going on?” Naruto asked, eyes still locked on the window as Rin quickly pulled him from the kitchen. The quick pace down the hall, being dragged by the arm plucked at something in his memory from that night of the attack but it slid from his grasp. A strange sense of displacement with the same restless knocking took its place jockeying with the growing fear in his stomach for attention.

“I don’t know but I don’t like it.” Rin hurried them both into the entrance hall stopping short when they almost ran into Itachi. “Itachi-san-”

“Are you both alright?” Itachi asked, glancing them over then looking out toward the window.

From outside, more sounds of destruction filtered through the door and walls. Naruto tightened his grip on Rin’s hand, the uneasy sense of déjà-vu rising higher. He barely heard Rin answer the question before flinching back as the door opened and an ANBU appeared in the hall.

“Enemies have come through the mirror,” the ANBU said without preamble. “Kakashi is already on his way there. You’re to stay here and guard Naruto-kun. Hokage-sama stressed not to leave the house unless there is no other choice.”

 Rin nodded, eyes and face hardened into an expression that Naruto had never seen on her. She tightened her grip on his hand, quelling some, but not all of the panic rising in Naruto’s chest.

“We understand,” Itachi said, expression, if possible, more serious than ever.

With a nod, the ANBU spun and disappeared through the door again. As the door drifted shut, Naruto shuddered, wrapping one arm around his stomach. The feeling from before seemed worse, but he couldn’t tell if it was his own panic. Itachi moved to the door in several quick steps, securing it. Another terrible crash from outside shook the ground and rattled the windows. More explosions followed the sound, all coming from the direction of the Tower.

Naruto heard Rin say something above him, but the words were lost to him. His eyes were locked on the door, all focus centered on what was happening outside. The village was under attack, just like his village had been. The increasing explosions from outside mirrored the ones from his dreams and the terrifying moments before he left the Old Konoha. He vaguely registered Rin pulling him away from the door, deeper into the house. Panic curled its way up through his stomach and Naruto found breathing grow increasingly difficult.

It was happening all over again. Naruto didn’t want it to happen again. He finally had a home, he didn’t want to lose it so soon.

The next explosion was close, entirely too close. It shook the entire house and rained dust down from the ceiling. Another explosion came immediately after, this one bringing chunks of the ceiling down instead of just dust. Naruto flinched against Rin, realizing after a moment they had stopped moving and that Rin was nearly crushing his hand. He looked up and blinked, unsure if this was another version of his nightmare for a moment.

Bits of paper were crawling through the cracks from outside. Like little living origami creatures they pushed their way into the building, struggling to fit between window panes and under doors. There were dozens of them coming in from the outer walls as Naruto watched in confusion. Itachi stood between Naruto and Rin and the paper. Looking up into Rin’s face, Naruto saw her eyes narrowed and face set and her other hand gripped a kunai.

Naurto opened his mouth but he never got the chance to ask a question. One of the scraps of paper flailing in the window exploded. It was a small explosion compared to the ones they could hear from outside, but it shattered the window spraying glass and splinters in all directions. Naruto cried out in fear and surprise while Rin spun on the spot, dragging him behind her and shielding him from the debris.

Two more explosions went off in quick succession. Rin took advantage of the brief pause between the explosions and ran back the way they had come down the hall, dragging Naruto behind her. Naruto whimpered as the same turbulent sensation washed over him from the broken window. Naruto managed a quick glance over his shoulder to check if Itachi was following, but Itachi was already locked kunai to kunai with a pale, red haired ninja. Behind them the wall was broken open as a blue haired woman stood just outside the house and more and more slips of paper flew through into the hall.

The paper shot toward Naruto with the speed of a shuriken. Instead of stabbing into him, though, they plastered onto his legs, sticking, stiffening till he could hardly keep up with Rin’s quick steps. Naruto cried out in panic as he tripped and stumbled to the ground. Rin turned, eyes wide, as she saw the increasing number of paper slips attaching to him. Spinning, Rin pulled Naruto toward and past her, grabbing one of his legs with a glowing green hand. Naruto felt her hand run down the length of his leg in a quick motion sweeping and cutting the paper off him, the chakra surrounding her hand crackling against him even through his pant leg. She did the same to his other side and suddenly he could move again.

The relief was only temporary, though, as more paper came after them. Pushing Naruto behind her, Naruto saw a flash of hand signs before Rin blew out a strong wave of water. She sprayed it over the paper, drenching and weighing it down. Then, turned again and dragged Naruto into the entrance hall.

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps toward the stairs when the front door was blasted open and three more ninja appeared. Rin swept Naruto behind her as she faced off with the new threats. The push made Naruto stumble. His legs felt weak against an onslaught of negative emotion that reared up stronger than ever. It battled with the panic that was already coursing through him and the flashes of memory overlaying from the night the Old Konoha was attacked.

Clashes of metal rang in front of him as Rin defended against the three enemy ninja but Naruto didn’t notice. He didn’t register the fight or Rin’s yell for him to get back. He barely registered his own frantic realization that whatever had been outside was getting into the house and it was coming for him. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, curling into himself as he hopelessly willed it away, whatever it was.

A hand grabbing his shirt and dragging him forward brought Naruto back to the events unfolding around him. It wasn’t Rin dragging him to safety, it was one of the enemy shinobi, pulling him toward the broken and shattered door. Moving closer to the source of the sinister force brought feeling back into Naruto’s limbs and he dug his heels into the ground. He couldn’t go outside, there was something waiting for him, reaching through the holes blasted in the protective seals.

Grabbing the enemy’s hand, Naruto tried to pull it from his shirt. When that didn’t help, he bit down as hard as he could on the arm grabbing him. His attacker cried out in surprise and fury before hauling back and hitting Naruto across the head. The blow made Naruto see stars for a moment as the world dipped and spun as much from being hefted under the enemy’s arm as from the hit itself.

“NARUTO!” Rin cried from somewhere, her voice reaching him as he blinked in confusion.

Looking up, Naruto caught the sight of Rin holding off the other two enemy shinobi. Her concentration momentarily broke as she looked in panic to where he was being carried out the door. One of her opponents seized the opening and dodged forward driving a kunai into Rin’s side then she was lost to view.

Naruto gasped when he hit the outside air. It felt like it was burning. The temperature wasn’t any different from inside the house, but at the same time it boiled against his skin and twisted his stomach. It was like being assaulted in his nightmare again, but he couldn’t see the red mist only feel it and this time he couldn’t wake up. He writhed, trying to pull away from his abductor just as desperate to get back into the house as to get away from the enemy.

The arm around him tightened painfully, but Naruto barely noticed. He was too caught up in the searing pain in his gut. He didn’t register where they were taking him or if the others had followed him from the house, he only knew they were moving. Then the anger seeped in with the pain. It started as something foreign, like it was alive and separate but then it latched onto Naruto’s own anger. The force fed on his outrage over the kidnapping, hurting his friends, destroying his new home, attacking his new village. It gorged and grew until Naruto couldn’t distinguish between the foreign anger seeping through him and his own. It burned through him, not just in his gut but down his limbs and over his skin with such intensity that he lost track of the external world. He didn’t even hear his own screams before he lost all rational thought and the red mist blotted out everything.

 

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had forgotten how much I put poor Naruto through in this story. This would actually be really traumatizing for a child his age. Oh well.  
> Thanks for reading!


	17. Enemies Inside

**Chapter 17: Enemies Inside**

Minato flew down the corridor. The hallway was unusually bright thanks to the gaping hole in the building farther down the corridor. The added light allowed Minato to take in vital details as he sped toward the mirror room. He noticed that, besides general damage from the fight and explosion, the other door and chambers containing top secret information and techniques were completely untouched. That fact alone strengthened Minato’s belief that Naruto was the main target for the invading forces.

There was also the ease with which he moved down the corridor. If it were a full invasion, the enemy would need a large force to secure and occupy a foot hold. All signs pointed to a smaller force, more of a strike than invasion, and they were making no attempt to secure the Tower itself, the logical choice for a foothold in the city.

Growing closer, Minato could pick out the casualties scattered amongst the rubble already, mainly the ANBU set to guard the mirror. Increasing his speed, he burst into the sunlight streaming into the hallway as he reached the end of the broken wall. From the corner of his eye and just over the edge of the crater, he could see one of the large invading summons sent crashing into the village wall. 

_That would be Tsunade_ , he thought to himself.  _Hopefully, she doesn't destroy more of the village than the actual enemy._

Minato focused on the goal ahead of him. One figure stood in his path, blocking him from a direct line to the mirror. The black cloak with red clouds was easy to make out. With a flick of movement, Minato had one of his kunai in one hand and a rasengan forming in the other. As soon as he was in range he threw the kunai then flashed to its location seconds before impact. Instantly closing the distance between himself and his unsuspecting opponent, Minato thrust the rasengan forward with as much power as possible. Pushing that much chakra through his still injured hands was painful but he wanted to disable his opponent with one hit and move onto the mirror before more troops could come through. The rasengan never hit, though. It disappeared, drained away before it even touched his opponent.

Minato cut short his surprise and redirected the energy to block and dodge the counter attack. Summoning a shadow clone, he had the clone attack from one side also using a rasengan while Minato himself came from the opposite side using taijutsu. Sure enough, the clone’s rasengan never made contact, dissipating into nothing before it hit.

Everything Minato had seen indicated this particular version of Pain possessed the ability to absorb chakra, precisely as Jiriaya had mentioned. That meant Minato was restricted to taijutsu for his offensive. It also gave insight into how the protective barrier was broken, Minato reflected as he launched a series of punches in combination with his clone. Seals and barriers needed chakra to be sustained, take the chakra away and the barrier became incredibly weak.

The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke as Minato dodged to the side. Whether the shadow clone was affected by the chakra absorption or not he was unsure. He could tell, however that much of what Jiraiya reported was true. His opponent had the rinengan and apparently could only use one special technique. The body he was facing was also extremely resilient, taking the blows Minato managed to land with almost no reaction. Aiming an attack to the Pain’s blind spot, Minato scowled when his opponent dodged. A quick glance around as he twisted away, Minato found the original image of Pain he’d encountered kneeling on the other side of the mirror.

A series of kunai flew from the corridor aimed at the Pain guarding the gate. Kakashi followed immediately behind, chidori already in hand and sharigan uncovered as he launched toward the fight.

“He absorbs chakra!” Minato called, pulling out another special kunai.

Their opponent was fast and had the advantage of two sets of eyes, but with Kakashi to provide an opening Minato knew he could get to the mirror. From the corner of his eye, Minato saw another body fall through the glass and into their world. He needed to close the portal, now, before any more enemy troops could arrive. Ending the contact between the two Pains would also give them the advantage against the one already in their world.

Minato threw his kunai at the mirror then cursed as the Pain used one of Kakashi’s kunai to knock his own off course. The Yellow Flash still transported to it, bringing himself further around their foe. Pushing off the wall as Kakashi launched an onslaught of taijutsu, Minato aimed for the mirror. He drew in a deep breath and sent a strong wind attack to the mirror, throwing debris into the air and blocking the other Pain’s direct view of the battle. To his surprise, some of the attack passed through portal and into the adjacent world, cutting gouges into the other room. Minato shot past the body that had just come through. Crumpled on the ground and bleeding heavily, he dismissed the new arrival as not a threat. Perhaps the ninja was a casualty from a battle occurring on the other side?

Dismissing the issue from his mind, Minato slammed his experimental seal into the mirror. Behind the text spreading out over the chakra glass he could see the remains of the wind attack sent through the crystal. The chamber on the other side had a large seal drawn out on paper and spread over the floor, but it was cut and ripped from the force of his wind attack. Minato could only assume it was the means Pain used to send troops through the mirror. He hoped the damage meant the enemy would be at least temporarily prevented from sending anyone else through incase his seal to shut down the mirror failed.

Minato needn’t have worried. The image flickered a moment before blacking out in the next instant. He blew out a momentary breath of relief. Behind him, a body clattered to the floor and the sounds of battle stopped just as abruptly as the mirror had died. Glancing over his shoulder, Minato could see the invading Pain crumple to the ground like a puppet. In the brief silence that followed, he heard it, a faint cracking noise.

Eyes sweeping back over the blank surface, Minato found the source. The crack started somewhere behind the strip of paper bearing his new seal and spread out across the face of the mirror. It moved erratically, in fits and starts as it jumped its way from a single blemish to three long cracks moving across the surface. Almost without thinking, Minato formed a rasengan in his palm, ready to finish the job and end the troubles caused by the dammed device, but he hesitated.

“Sensei!”

The call brought Minato around, rasengan still in one hand as he turned. There, on the ground where the most recent arrival lay was Kakashi, badly injured and unconscious while above him was…also Kakashi. Minato blinked, taking a moment to realize what had happened. “Damn,” he said to himself, and allowed the spinning chakra in his hand to die. He turned back to look at the mirror again. The cracks stretched clear across from one corner to the other, but the mirror still remained whole.  The moment was gone. He’d have to put up with the thing for a little while longer if he wanted any chance to send the new Kakashi to his home world.

“Damn.” Minato repeated, staring at the mirror as frustration boiled inside him. Then, he turned to face the newest complication in an ever increasingly complicated situation. “How is he?”

“Not good,” Kakashi said, going over the wounds of his alternate self with surprising calm, though with eyes a little wider than normal.

Minato glanced up as more footsteps echoed through the hall and reinforcements appeared with a medical-nin close behind them. “This one’s in serious condition. He-” but Minato stopped, whirling around to face the blown open section of the wall. That chakra…

“Look after him!” Minato pointed at the new Kakashi, not bothering to notice the medic’s confused expression as he looked from one Kakashi to the next. Minato was already gone, flashing to Naruto and the sharp spike of Kyūbi’s chakra he sensed.

* * *

Pain stared in growing rage at the blank chakra glass before him. He ran through the signs to activate it again. The seal allowing travel through the portal was cut to ribbons around his feet and useless, but he might be able to find a way to send chakra through to his Paths on the other side. This had been their best chance to capture the Kyūbi, now all elements of surprise were wasted and more importantly Konan was trapped on the other side.

Nothing happened. Pain ran through the activation hand signs again, not because he thought they would work, but he was growing desperate for his remaining friend trapped in enemy territory. Still, the Looking Glass remained blank, his own reflection distorted by the cracks marring its surface. There had to be a way around whatever the Yondaime had done to cut off the mirror. He couldn’t have lost Konan so quickly or so easily. They had been through too much, survived too much, lost too much already.

Getting to his feet, Pain spun to the exit, fists clenched and determination making his limbs shake. The plan had been risky from the start, Pain knew that, but he had never expected it to fail so completely or quickly. Striding down the dark corridor and back to the research on the mirror, he ran over all the possible reasons for the failure.

The primary reason was clear. He had underestimated his opponent. The Yondaime of that world had eight more years to hone his skill and deepen his knowledge, not to mention the life experiences the he would have had along the way. No, that Yondaime would be a different person than the one who had died fighting the Kyūbi. Pain had taken too much for granted, relied too much on what he had learned and heard about the Yondaime in his own world. Plus, Naruto’s appearance must have given them at least a little more forewarning than expected.

Pain berated himself as he thought the situation over in hindsight. He should have anticipated a stronger resistance from the other side. Perhaps, the success in the Konoha of his own world had made him over-confident, as well. He should have sent more troops, even pulled them away from the front line if necessary and kept Konan with him in their own world. He slammed a fist against the wall, cracking the already damaged surface. The set back would have been nothing if not for the loss of Konan.

Taking a moment, Pain drew in a deep breath and set aside the self recriminations. Whatever the reasons for the failure or other possible steps he could have taken to prevent the situation, they didn’t change the reality of the outcome, or what he had to do to fix it. He would get Konan back and take the Kyūbi from that world even if had to build his own portal to do it.

* * *

Naruto came to in a world of eerie quiet. The first thing he was aware of was the slow drip-dripping that echoed around him. The next thing he was aware of was his inability to move. He opened his eyes and found himself looking at a gigantic set of cage doors, bordered by decorative inlay on either side and stretching up to the high vaulted ceiling. He glanced down shifting his eyes to see what was wrong with his body and gasped. He was surrounded by the red mist, but it was more than just mist now. It was in the shape of two clawed red hands reaching out from behind the bars and pinning his limbs to his side.

Naruto struggled, desperate to get free and escape. More red mist seeped in from the walls and bubbled up from beneath the water covered floor. The more he struggled, though, the tighter the claws gripped him till it was difficult to breath and his skin burned from the contact. A low chuckle made Naruto freeze. The sound came from behind the bars.

“Well, little brat,” the voice drawled in low amusement. “We finally meet.”

Naruto stared with wide eyes at the cage. He couldn’t see much beyond the dark shadows inside, just a pair of malicious red eyes that glowed from the depths. “Who…who are you?”

The voice chuckled again, low rolling waves of sound that drew their strength from Naruto’s stumbling and fearful question. “I don’t suppose they would have told you, the Sandaime being the fool he was.” The glowing eyes drew closer until a widely, wickedly grinning mouth appeared and soon after the face of a giant fox.

Naruto looked at the fox face, sinister in the half shadows, with open mouthed horror. He forgot to continue his struggles as he tried to understand what he was seeing. He’d only been a baby when the Kyūbi attacked and was subsequently killed by the Yondaime, but he was positive that was who he was seeing. Just behind the many sharp toothed grin and narrowed eyes he could see the shadowy flicks of tails. There were too many to count but he knew there must be nine of them. This had to be the Kyūbi.

But how? That was where Naruto’s mind stopped. He couldn’t think of any explanation for it save one. “Am…am I…d-dead?” he asked, stumbling to spit the words out in a fearful whisper. If he was dead and trapped in the same place as the Kyūbi…well, he didn’t want to think of the implications that held.

The fox laughed again, honest amusement mixing in with the dark enjoyment he was deriving from the situation. “No, little brat, you’re not dead. Neither of us is, but you will be if you’re taken by those men. Be happy I stepped in to _save_ us.”

Naruto shook his head. He wasn’t sure he wanted whatever kind of saving the fox was offering. “The Yondaime killed you!”

It was more a knee jerk reaction than anything else. The Kyūbi couldn’t be alive. It just wasn’t possible. The Yondaime died killing the demon fox. It was that act more than anything that cemented the Yondaime’s stance as a hero in Naruto’s old village and Naruto’s own personal hero. The fact that the Yondaime in the Old Konoha was also Minato and Naruto’s father didn’t even register at that moment. All that mattered to Naruto as he looked into the rage filled eyes peering at him was that the Kyūbi was dead and the Yondaime killed it.

The fox huffed another chuckle before propping its head on one paw. “They supposedly killed me in this world, too, but am I _really_ dead? Just look around.”

Naruto couldn’t move his head thanks to the two chakra fists wrapped around his body. Instead, he rolled his eyes, swerving them across the chamber. More red mist leaked through the walls, so thick in places that he couldn’t see the walls. It rolled through the bars into the cage and across the floor, merging with the chakra hands grasping Naruto. He whimpered as the grip around him tightened even more, if that was possible.

Naruto didn’t understand what was going on, but he could see that the red mist was mixing with the Kyūbi’s chakra. With each passing moment the fox seemed to grow larger and more solid, its grip firming till Naruto felt like he was encased in rock.

“That’s _my_ chakra,” The fox continued, eyes roving proudly around the chamber, “Coming home to where it belongs.”

Closing his eyes, Naruto wished the scene to go away, telling himself to wake up and escape the awful nightmare. It wasn’t a dream though, and no matter how much he tried to convince himself, Naruto knew waking up in his bed was not the way to escape the fox’s clutches. He opened his eyes again, rolling them around the room in a desperate attempt to find a way out of the chamber, but the red mist had grown too thick to see the walls much less find some manner of escape. Even if he did manage to escape the claws and get out of the chamber how would he find his way back to the village?

“Keh,” the Kyūbi scoffed, drawing Naruto’s gaze away from his search. The Kyūbi’s grin stretched wider showing his long row of pointed teeth through the bars. “Wondering where we are, brat?” it asked, pressing up to the cage and pulling Naruto closer to the bars separating them. The fox continued on, speaking with relish and wide laughing eyes. “You don’t have to worry. We’re still in Konoha, not too far from your house even.”

Naruto opened his mouth, confused by what the fox was saying but ready to deny it no matter what. This place, wherever he was, was not Konoha.

“Don’t you see?” the Kyūbi continued with knowing glee, “We haven’t left the village because I’m _inside_ you. I’ve been inside you this entire time. No matter where you go you’ll never escape _me_.”

“That’s not true,” Naruto whispered, but it was drowned out by the Kyūbi’s laugh.

“Of course it is,” the fox grinned showing every one of its pointed teeth, nose pressed almost through the bars, “And do you want to know _who_ put me here?”

Naruto struggled to shake his head, but couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. “It’s not,” he wheezed. It couldn’t be true. He couldn’t have the demon inside him, what did that make him? A monster, too?

Naruto didn’t have time to ponder the subject even if he could bring his mind out of the frozen state of denial that fell over him. Itachi appeared, standing next to the large claws gripping Naruto. Straining, Naruto could barely see him from the corner of his eyes. He was just standing there facing the Kyūbi with set shoulders. Naruto wanted to tell him to run, to escape, but he couldn’t whisper much less yell. The Kyūbi’s grip was squeezing all breath out of him.

“A sharingan?” the fox said, “You must be an Uchiha. It’s been a very long time since I last saw one of your clan.”

“I have no interest in that,” Itachi said, looking to Naruto. His eyes were the same red that Naruto had seen earlier at the house and focused in concentration.

Itachi reached out and grabbed hold of the chakra surrounding Naruto. Like a balloon popping, the chakra expanded then burst, dissipating back behind the bars as Naruto dropped to the ground gasping for breath. He barely touched the floor when he realized it wasn’t floor at all but grass. He was in Konoha again.

Naruto opened his eyes to confusion. There were sounds all around him and it hurt to move his limbs, though the pain slowly faded with each passing moment. The first thing that truly registered beyond jumbled sounds and pain was the blood. It was splattered across the ground as though someone had thrown it from a bucket. The trees and buildings in the immediate area were destroyed, broken and shattered.

The sounds finally fell into some sort of order and Naruto registered a gurgling sort of gasp. He turned his head and felt his mouth go dry. Rin knelt on the scarred ground less than a stone’s throw away. She was bent over someone gasping for breath. It took a moment for Naruto to realize it was one of the shinobi who tried to kidnap him. He couldn’t see the extent of the injuries thanks to Rin’s position blocking the way, but he could see the bright green glow of medical jutsu from the other side of her. With each gasping breath the man choked up more blood and choked and sputtered to breath.

Tearing his eyes away from the sight, Naruto frantically directed his gaze anywhere but at the dying soldier. This time, however, he could pick out the other slain. Their bodies were dismembered, ripped in pieces and scattered across the landscape like the wreckage of trees and buildings.

“Naruto!” Minato’s voice cut through to Naruto and his father was suddenly there next to him.

Nausea rose up in Naruto seeing the destruction, the blood, and now his father there to see for himself what Naruto had done was too much to take. He backed away from the gruesome sight back away from Minato, clumsily scrabbling across the ground on all fours. The destruction was all around him, though, and no matter where he turned he confronted the same sight.

There was nothing in his stomach to expel, Rin didn’t let him snack before meals lest it ruin his appetite but that didn’t stop the nausea. Turning over to his hands and knees, Naruto gagged on bile, spitting it out through painful, hiccupping sobs. Coughing, he turned away from the smelly patch on the ground and sucked in mouthfuls of air. He was covered in seals, the same seal that lined his room back at the house. He could see them on his arms and feel them stuck to his clothes in the way it failed to give and stretch. The chakra suppressants only confirmed what he’d been afraid of while speaking to the fox.

It was him, Naruto knew it. He was the one who destroyed the landscape around. Shaking his head, he wanted to deny it but the demon fox trapped in its cage came back to mind.

“I’m _inside_ you,” the Kyūbi had said and, though everything in Naruto screamed not to believe the demon fox, nothing else made sense. Everyone in the old village had known, that was why they all hated him so much. They knew he had a monster inside of him. They knew he was dangerous.

“Naruto, listen to me,” Minato’s voice filtered in again. Naruto could feel a hand on his shoulder and another on his back rubbing circles. “Just take deep breathes Naruto-chan.”

Naruto shook his head frantically. He couldn’t. There wasn’t enough air to take deep breaths.

“Naruto-kun, calm down.” Now, it was Itachi’s voice that filtered in through the panic coursing through Naruto from the other side of him.

Naruto’s breathing was galloping out of control. No matter how much air he drew, he couldn’t seem to get enough. Minato was speaking again, but it was almost too much just focusing on the important function of breathing. He couldn’t spare any attention to the words passing over his head.

Itachi had a hold of Naruto’s shoulders now, trying to catch his gaze. “You must calm down.”

But Naruto couldn’t. The frantic gasps came quicker and more uncontrolled as he thought about what the Kyūbi told him, what it meant for his life, and the destruction laid out around him. What would Minato say when he realized. Right now the man was next to him trying to comfort and calm him but that would change once he knew the truth. Naruto couldn’t bear to be left alone, not by the only father he’d known. Suddenly, he couldn’t even get in the small amount of air he’d managed before, the air couldn’t get past his lips. Black spots gathered at the edge of his vision.

“Naruto-chan!” Minato sounded so worried and that only made it worse.

Itachi grabbed Naruto’s chin and pulled it up to look directly into his eyes. Itachi’s eyes seemed to glow red, the black specks swirling around the pupil. Naruto felt his own breath slowing as he watched them. His eyelids grew heavy, as well, and he felt suddenly exhausted. Naruto only broke the gaze when his eyes became too tired to keep open and he collapsed into Minato’s arms in a deep sleep.

  **TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be up yesterday but I ended up having to do adult things instead. Don't grow up, it's a trap.  
> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!


	18. Fallout

 

**CHAPTER 18: Fallout**

Minato cradled Naruto in his arms. The boy was sleeping peacefully now, face relaxed and devoid of the anguish it held only moments ago. The tranquility was an illusion, though, brought on by Itachi’s technique. Minato knew that as soon as Naruto woke again, the pain, anger, and shock would return and Minato would be hard pressed to put it to rest. Dealing with the village and missions, for all their complexities, never came close to the difficulty and uncertainty that Naruto brought with him with each new crisis.

Straightening up, Minato stood for a moment, staring at his son with a worried frown. Around them the destruction from the Kyūbi spread out almost as foreshadow for what could come. There had to be a way to stop the latent Kyūbi chakra from being absorbed by Naruto, a way to protect his son from the dangerous effects of the demon fox.

Behind him, two ANBU shinobi appeared kneeling on the ground. “Hokage-sama, all threats have been neutralized. The village is secured,” one of the ANBU said.

Minato looked at the two. Cat and Bird were disheveled and covered with cuts. The battle, though short, had been hard fought. He looked from the ANBU to the many columns of smoke trailing from the village to the skies. Several buildings were missing from the skyline. There would be casualties, injured from the battle, people caught in the rubble. He held Naruto tighter, torn between seeing to the care of the village and his son.

“Sensei,” Rin said, stepping forward from where the enemy shinobi lay dead. “Itachi-san and I can go to the damaged areas right now. You should look after Naruto-chan.”

Minato looked at his former student. She was covered in blood and dirt, much of it from the enemy she had tried to save, though a large dark spot on her side and a corresponding rip in her shirt hinted at a possible injury. He knew how much she had grown from the hesitant girl out of the academy, but there were times she still surprised him. This was one of those times.

“Naruto-kun will sleep for several hours at least,” Itachi said after another moment of silence from the Hokage.

Sighing, Minato nodded. “Stand down from high-alert,” he said giving the immediate directions he thought would be necessary. “Civilians may leave the shelters, but they may not go into the damaged areas or buildings until those areas have been deemed safe. Increase patrols around the village by half. All other shinobi are to help in the search and rescue for anyone trapped in the wreckage. I’ll be along to survey the damage in…a little while.”

Rin nodded. “Hai, Hokage-sama,” she said. Then, she and the other three shinobi disappeared.

Minato stood in the silence. In a few minutes others would arrive to collect the bodies of the enemy shinobi for examination. The bodies of the dead, especially those of enemies, contained vital intelligence.  Even if the bodies were dismembered, like those surrounding him, they could hold clues about the enemy and their methods. Looking around once more, Minato heaved another sigh then flashed away to his home.

Once home, Minato couldn’t decide if the damage was worse than he hoped or better than he feared. The house was still standing and that was the best Minato could really say. The front door and surrounding wall were blown open, revealing the front hall to the outside. Debris from the destroyed walls and smashed furniture littered the gouged floor. Most of the windows on the first floor were shattered and several on the second floor were broken as well.

Minato stepped cautiously over the threshold. The floor groaned and creaked in protest from the added weight, but quieted after a moment. Down the hallway he could see more sunlight pouring in from the new holes in the wall. Minato found the hallway lined with paper with more scraps lying in heaps on the floor. A large collection of paper scraps lay in a soggy mess, probably Rin’s doing if Minato had to guess. There were bodies here as well, two of them on the floor. Minato immediately recognized Pein’s red hair and piercings. The other person was the dark haired woman he’d seen through the mirror. Pein’s body appeared dead but the woman, Jiraiya had called her Konan, was merely unconscious.

Minato glared at the two invaders before shifting Naruto in his arms and summoning a toad. Gamahiro appeared in a puff of smoke, pale green and the swords he was just beginning to learn to wield strapped to his back. Minato pointed to Pein and Konan in turn as he gave his instructions. “I need you to take this body to the medical examiners and this prisoner to the interrogators. Then, return here, you’ll be guarding my son.”

The toad glanced at the two bodies before nodding, gathering up his charges, and disappearing. Minato moved back to the stairs. The damage to the building, though extensive, didn’t seem to be structural, only cosmetic. Still, he took the stairs slowly, testing each as he went. The boards creaked and groaned more than usual, but not in any way that made him nervous.

The second floor appeared relatively undamaged. Minato was sure if he opened the doors to rooms bordering the front of the house that there would be damage, but the hall only had a few things out of place, a shifted desk here, a broken vase there, nothing of significance. He hurried down the hall, deciding on Naruto’s room after a briefly hesitating by his office. The office was more secure against break-ins but Naruto would probably feel more comfortable in his own room. Also, more chakra seals were placed in the bedroom to protect the boy.

The bedroom was almost as untouched as the hall. The furniture was out of place, no doubt from the explosion that blasted open the front door, but there was little else damaged in the still bare space. Minato shoved the bed back into place with one foot and then laid Naruto down, pulling the covers back to make space for the child. He looked at the suppressant seals still covering Naruto’s body. After a moment’s thought he pulled away the seals that would become uncomfortable, mainly around the boy’s head and neck, then tucked the blankets back up around his son.

With nothing left to do but wait, Minato sank down onto the bed watching the slow rise and fall of his son’s chest. He reached out and brushed the blond hair from Naruto’s face. Naruto seemed peaceful sleeping there, but Minato knew an illusion when he saw one. The easy rest was only thanks to Itachi’s genjutsu, it was as brittle and frail as colored glass. Minato dreaded Naruto waking up, how was he going to explain everything? How much did Naruto realize? Did he know about the fox? Did he know about Minato putting the fox inside of him?

Minato let out a shuddering sigh, the sound loud in the heavy silence. Naruto was too young to know the truth, too young for the burden, but Minato couldn’t lie to him. Pushing himself to his feet, Minato paced around the room. A large part of him wished he was back in his office or out in the street. He knew how to handle those situations, knew how to be a leader. Being a father was still shaky ground. He didn’t quite know what he should do when Naruto awoke, didn’t know how to explain. He shuddered at admitting to his son that Minato’s own counterpart, Naruto’s real _father_ , had placed that monster inside his son.

How could anyone accept that?

When Gamahiro returned Minato left, trying not to think on the guilty relief he felt upon leaving the house and throwing himself into his duties as Hokage. He’d have to face Naruto eventually, but for now he could focus on the relatively simple task of taking care of the village.

* * *

It was well past sunset before Minato ordered all work to stop for the night. They had combed the debris and damaged areas and were fairly certain there were no more casualties trapped in the rubble. The dead lay in the street before the hospital covered in white sheets and waiting to be claimed by family, or in some cases simply identified. So far, they had determined that seventeen people died in the attack, mostly from the collapsing buildings, and scores more had been injured. It was a hard day for the village, the worst since the attack of the Kyūbi eight years previous.

With the border guards on high alert, Minato sent everyone non-essential home to rest. Though he didn’t tell anyone directly, he knew they were far from over the difficulties caused by the mirror and the enemies on the other side of the blank glass.

For himself, Minato found he was too keyed up to sleep despite the exhaustion dogging his heels. He didn’t want to go home, either. For the first time since Naruto moved into the house, Minato didn’t want to be home. The only things that could be waiting for him at home were a long and difficult talk with his son or the long wait for Naruto to wake up from his deep sleep. Call it cowardly, but Minato didn’t want to face either after the hours of searching for survivors in the rubble.

Instead, Minato found himself at the door to the new Kakashi’s hospital room. He still hadn’t checked on the most recent dimensional traveler since the battle, besides receiving a quick message while working through the wreckage from Tsunade informing him that Kakashi would survive. However, he needed to know more. Minato needed details on how badly his student’s alternate had been injured, how long he would take to recover, and most importantly what was happening on the other side of the mirror. But, even with the vital intel that he needed to collect for the village, as Minato pushed the door open the main thought running through his head was that maybe the man in this room could help him understand his son a little better.

The room was dark, only the light from the hall spilling in across the tiled floor gave any visibility. Still, Minato closed the door softly behind him and stood with his back against it as his eyes adjusted. On further inspection the scant moonlight did filter through the drapes, allowing him to pick out the dark outline of a bed, chair, and small table.

Minato sighed at the dark room, he should have realized that the time would mean the patient would be asleep, if Kakashi had regained consciousness in the first place. Perhaps it would be for the best, though. Minato wasn’t sure if he was up to talking with this other version Kakashi either, when he was really honest with himself. He shuffled farther into the room, finding the medical chart hung at the end of the bed. It took a few moments but he managed to located the dim yellow light the nurses on the night shift used and flicked it on. He flipped through the notes written out in untidy, cryptic medical scrawl.  He honestly wasn’t sure how the medical staff got by with such poor handwriting. Of course, Jiraiya had said the same thing about Minato’s penmanship when they’d first started fūinjutsu.

From what Minato could gather, Kakashi was stable and recovering, though how long a full recovery would take was still unclear. There were a few lines concerning chakra exhaustion that he could make out in the dim light, but anything more than that was lost in jumbled scribbles and abbreviated medical jargon. Minato huffed in annoyance, wondering if the hospital staff wrote that way on purpose simply to thwart nosy patients, visitors, and Hokage.

Shaking his head, Minato hung the chart back on the bed and flicked off the light. He sank down into the bedside chair and ran a hand tiredly over his face. His own Kakashi could take days or even more than a week to recover from chakra exhaustion, but they didn’t need this alternate Kakashi to be up and about, they just needed him to be awake and well enough to answer questions. Hopefully, that wouldn’t take more than a day or two and then they could finally get some answers about the other world.

 Minato didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until the opening door woke him. He sat still a moment, anticipating the pain in his neck when he moved from his position propped up by one supporting hand. “Didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, slowly pulling his head upright with a grimace. He scrubbed his face, pressing his fingers into his eyes in an attempt to rouse himself faster.

“Call it morbid curiosity,” Kakashi said as he stepped away from the door. The copy-nin moved to the bed, staring at his counterpart a moment before pulling down the blanket hiding half the face. “I-he looks old,” Kakashi said, pulling the bedspread back up to cover the patient’s nose.

“He’s had a difficult couple of weeks,” Minato said, stifling a yawn as he pushed himself to a more upright position. His eyes travelled down to the half hidden face on the bed. “Probably had a rough couple of years,” he amended. The room was still too dark to see detail, but a faint dawn light slanted across the alternate Kakashi’s face, deepening lines and shadows.

The silence drew out long and almost uncomfortable before Kakashi spoke again. “Rin said he’s suffering from chakra exhaustion, soldier pill poisoning, and general exhaustion besides the wound in his abdomen.”

“Did she say when he’d wake up?” Minato asked.

Kakashi shook his head, “No, but she didn’t think it would be long…What are we going to do with him?”

Minato tore his eyes away from the bed and looked at the man standing next to it. “What would you want in his position? How would you feel about it?”

Kakashi shook his head, hooking his hands in his pockets. “I can’t say. He’s a different man from me. The past eight years have given him a different life and created someone else entirely.”

"Fair enough," Minato nodded, "But if you, yourself were in that position, what would you want?"

"Just me as I am?" Kakashi pointed to himself with one finger. Minato had the distinct impression that the man was delaying answering, but Kakashi answered almost immediately. "I'd find my way back home. You're here, and so is Rin and everyone I care about. I don't know if he has anyone there...maybe the village is all he has left and if that's the case...I just don't know what he'll want."

Minato took in the answer, turning the problem over and over. The Mirror was still relatively intact, even if it was inert. They could try to reactivate it, to send the new Kakashi back when he was fit and ready, but what would he be going back to? A destroyed Konoha? On the other hand, Minato could finish the job and smash the Mirror like he had planned to at the end of the attack. A large part of him was still tempted to do just that, it was the simplest answer to their problem.

"Fancy having a twin brother?" Minato asked, half in jest.

"I don't think it's really up to me." Kakashi shrugged. "It's not my life so much as his that's going to be most affected."

"We'll just have to wait till he wakes up," Minato agreed. He couldn't destroy the Mirror until he asked the alternate Kakashi about it, not in good conscience at least. It was, in part, the alternate Kakashi’s choice to make.

Silence fell on the two men as they stared at the dimensional visitor. Through the window drapes the sky slowly lightened as dawn approached. Minato noted the approaching day. It would soon be light enough to begin working again. They couldn't afford to waste daylight during the cleaning and reconstruction efforts.

"You should go home, sensei," Kakashi broke the silence. "We can handle the clean up and if something drastic happens we'll know where to find you."

Minato hesitated. "I need to be visible," he sighed, "The village needs to see their Hokage is present during a crisis."

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and thought a moment. "Send a shadow clone. I'll stay with it, make sure nothing happens."

Minato frowned at the suggestion but it was half hearted at best. "The elders disapprove of shirking official duties off onto shadow clones." He was already pushing himself out of the chair, though, and preparing the hand sign needed. The clone poofed into existence, just as disheveled and dark-eyed as the original.

Kakashi waved away the concerns with his usual nonchalance. “If anyone asks any questions, I’ll tell them you’re attending to an important matter somewhere else in the village. It’s true enough, after all.”

Rolling his eyes, Minato moved to the window. His gaze passed over the other Kakashi, still unconscious in the bed, and he briefly wondered if that alternate version of his student was as carefree and laidback as his own Kakashi. “You know,” Minato said, as he opened the window, “We’re going to need to figure out what to call the two of you when he wakes up. It’ll get confusing with the both of you here, though I don’t suppose he’ll be going anywhere outside of the hospital for a while.”

“If he really is my alternate, he’ll be here at least a week, maybe two,” Kakashi said, “And not to sound childish, but I was here first, this world is my home. Let him get the nickname.”

Minato snorted, jumping onto the window sill before glancing over his shoulder with one final order. “When he wakes up and understands his situation, have him moved to Sensei-Jiraiya’s room. It’ll be easier to protect them both in one location and Sensei can ask him questions.”

The silver haired ninja nodded with a tilt of his head. Then, Minato jumped out into the growing dawn light and turned in the direction of home.

* * *

Naruto didn’t know how he got to his bed room. The last thing in his fuzzy memory had been getting ready for lunch with Rin and Itachi. Sitting up, he shook his head to try to dispel the cotton that seemed to fill it. The movement set off a series of aches and pains all through his body that hadn’t been there when he last remembered. He frowned at the discomfort and the growing confusion.

Clambering out from under the covers tucked around him, Naruto swung his legs over the side of the bed only to pause before dropping to the ground. Sitting next to the bed was a very large toad, different shades of pale green and over half the size of the bed. Naruto blinked at the toad unsure what to think of his strange visitor. The toad only blinked back with two large yellow eyes.

“Why’s a toad in my room?” Naruto mumbled to himself as he attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes. He wished his brain would wake up faster. Though, a part of him thought he might still be asleep, perhaps he was dreaming, fallen asleep on the kitchen table as he waited for lunch to begin.

“Minato-sama asked that I watch over you while he was away tending to the village,” the toad said, voice deep and a little raspy.

“Gah!” Naruto yelled falling farther back on the bed as he jumped. “It talks!”

The toad tilted its chin, managing to look affronted in its own amphibian-like way. “Of course I talk,” it mumbled before speaking up again, “My name’s Gamahiro. Now show proper manners and introduce yourself.” The kind tone belied the scolding words as the toad shifted around to face Naruto properly.

Naruto gaped a moment, the mystery of how he got into bed forgotten with the new oddity of a giant talking toad in front of him. As Gamahiro stared, though, Naruto slowly gather his wits. He wasn’t entirely sure of the proper way to introduce himself to a toad. No one had ever showed him the procedure for introductions to other people much less talking animals, but he gave it his best attempt. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto. It’s… uh…nice to meet you?”

The toad nodded in satisfaction. “Likewise, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto’s stomach chose that moment to join the conversation, rumbling loudly in the pause. “Ha,” Naruto laughed off the sound with one hand going to his stomach and the other to the back of his head. “Sorry, I don’t know how long it’s been since lunch.” He glanced to the window, but the curtains were drawn. Now that he looked, the room itself was actually quite dim. He frowned as he tried to think if he’d actually eaten lunch or not and how long it had been since then.

Hesitating, Gamahiro glanced over his shoulder before looking back to Naruto. “We can get some food from the kitchen. I believe the mess has been mostly cleaned up and there should be extra guards around the perimeter by now.”

The prospect of food was dampened by what the toad had said. Mess? Guards? Had something happened? Naruto didn’t have time to ask, though. The toad had already turned, picking up a pair of swords Naruto hadn’t noticed. Naruto moved to shuffle off the bed but stopped as he noticed the crinkle of paper stuck to his shirt. Glancing down, he saw the chakra suppression seals that were becoming steadily familiar. The sight made him freeze, an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of Naruto’s stomach.

 Jumping off the bed with a shake of his head, Naruto followed Gamahiro out into the hall, running a few steps to catch up with the toad’s hopping steps. Naruto’s frown deepened and the uneasy feeling settled into a permanent nest inside his stomach as they moved down the hall and more evidence of _something_ happening came into view. There was furniture broken and missing along with a cold draft and the scent of fresh air wafting up from the ground floor. It wasn’t until they reached the stairs, though that Naruto saw the full extent.

Frozen at the landing, Naruto looked down in horror at what was supposed to be the front hall. It was all but destroyed. The front door was missing entirely. Someone had tacked up a tarp marked with seals over the hole which blocked out the wind and elements. The floor was cracked and splintered, too, slivers of wood, debris, and paper still scattered around the floor. Even with his limited vantage point, he could tell the damage continued out of sight down the hall. The battle had raged through the house, he vaguely thought before realizing what was going through his head.

The enemy had come to the house, there had been a battle from the hall and to the front door.

For a moment, Naruto could remember the confusion, fighting, and fear in perfect clarity, as though it were happening again. He stood frozen on the stairs, wide eyed and breathless as he tried to piece it together in some coherent sequence. First, there were the explosions in the distance interrupting lunch preparations, the ANBU appearing with the warning and directions to get to safety. Then, the paper lady and red haired man had attacked. Rin was injured and the three other enemy ninja…

Naruto gasped, breathing after what felt like minutes. The demon fox, it had been there, it had killed the three ninja that kidnapped him, but…that wasn’t right. He was forgetting something. There was more to it.

“Naruto-kun?” Gamahiro asked. The toad was already on the ground floor, realizing the boy hadn’t followed him down the stairs.

The Kyūbi had been there, Naruto was sure of it, but it hadn’t been there, _couldn’t_ be there since it was _dead_. Naruto grabbed the front of his shirt twisting it as he remembered a choking, constricted feeling. The paper seals crinkled under the movement making Naruto look down at them again. The light wasn’t much brighter in the hall than the bed room, but it was a little better and the reexamination of his shirt allowed him to see something he’d missed before in the room.

Blood.

_I’m_ inside _you._

The realization hit with the same gut wrenching force as it had the first time. He had the Kyūbi inside of him. Naruto, himself, had killed the three enemy soldiers. He’d spilled the blood that dotted his arms, legs, and shirt. The seals that were scattered over the walls, tarp, and himself were for him and the demon inside of him, to keep him from hurting anyone else like he had the three ninja.

 Naruto staggered back from the stairs, all thoughts of food gone as his appetite shriveled and disappeared. Minato had been there at the scene, he’d seen what Naruto had done. Rin had been there, too. What would they think of him?

Naruto turned from the stairs and ran back down the hall. He skidded into his room, slamming the door behind him with a loud bang. The seal was painted large on the inside of the door in black strokes that stood out even in the dim lighting. He spun from the sight and dove under the bed scrambling for the farthest corner. 

The seals covering his arms and shirt pulled at the frantic movement. Naruto’s fingers itched to pull them off but he was afraid to take them off, thinking of the destruction he’d caused earlier. The seal lined room felt more like a prison now than anything else and yet he wasn’t sure if he didn’t deserve to be locked up considering the danger he posed. He’d never forgive himself if he hurt Rin, Kakashi, or Minato, not after the kindness they’d shown him. There was a voice at the door, maybe Gamahiro, but Naruto didn’t respond. He closed his eyes and willed it to go away, for once in his life wishing to be alone.

Time passed, but Naruto didn’t acknowledge it. It faded into a numb sense of disbelief. He couldn’t sense any of the angry red chakra from the Kyūbi, but he could still see the sneering grin of the demon fox peering out at him from behind prison bars. The fox had been so real, he didn’t imagine it. Then the blood and the debris afterwards, Naruto knew he didn’t imagine that. The only thing keeping the awful power at bay was the seal surrounding him so he stayed where he was in the grey shadow under the bed.

A knock to the door roused Naruto from his daze. He twitched, pulling his arms tighter around his legs and wished the person would leave. The knock came again, this time accompanied by a voice.

“Naruto-chan?” It was Minato. “Naruto-chan, I’m coming in.” The door latch clicked and a bright light sliced through the dim room.

Naruto gasped, panicked at the thought of seeing his father or even leaving the room. He scrambled out from under the bed ignoring the stiffness that had settled into his limbs and threw himself against the door. The door snapped close again, Minato apparently unprepared for the sudden weight pushing against him.

“Don’t come in!” Naruto cried, choking on the words. He grabbed the door knob and held it fast, hoping he could keep it from turning again. There was no attempt to open the door, though. Instead, a heavy silence followed Naruto’s outburst. For a moment, he thought Minato had left and he was alone again, but then his father’s voice came through the wood again, muted and sad.

“Ok…ok, I won’t come in unless you want me to,” Minato said. “But we need to talk.”

Naruto shook his head. There was nothing to talk about. He had a monster inside of him, everyone would hate him again, and he’d be locked up and kept from hurting anyone else. “I don’t want to talk,” he said.

It was only because his head was pressed against the door that Naruto heard the heavy sigh on the other side. "Naruto, you don't have to be afraid," Minato said, "Everything's fine now, we've taken care of all the enemies in the village. You can come out. You're safe now...Are you listening to me?"

Naruto turned his back to the door and slid down to the floor. He could hear his father on the other side of the wood planks, certainly, but he shook his head at the words. He wasn't safe, the people around him weren't safe. From some dim half-memory of the first attack, the one that had started everything in the Old Konoha, Naruto recalled the Old Man saying he was the reason for the attack.

Naruto reached up and grabbed his hair in two tight fists. They had been after him then and nothing had changed. This place was going to turn into the Old Konoha. The people here would hate him because of the demon fox inside and the ninja from before would come and invade this place. They already had less than a day ago and they would return.

"Naruto, talk to me," Minato said through the door, his voice closer to the ground now. "...Either you talk to me or I'm coming in."

"No!" Naruto jumped to his feet again and grabbed the door knob, "You can't come in!"

“Why can’t I?” Minato’s response came back instantly. “Give me a reason!”

“I don’t want to hurt you!” Naruto cried, choking on the words. Admitting it out loud made it worse, made it twice as real.

“Naruto-chan, you’re not going to hurt me,” Minato said followed by a weak, forced chuckle, “unless you think you’re ready to beat the Hokage.”

Naruto let his head hang forward, thumping against the wood. He struggled with himself to speak until he finally pushed the words out. “They were after me.”

His father’s voice came through the door, equally quiet but still audible. “I know.”

Naruto’s eyes snapped open, staring at the bright line under the door. His hands shook as he turned the knob and pulled the door open, blinking in the sudden light. “You did?”

Minato was sitting in front of the door, settled down for a long wait. He nodded, face solemn and serious and when he spoke his voice reflected that same gravity. “I want you to understand something, Naruto-chan, this isn’t your fault.”

Cringing, Naruto turned his gaze to the floor. “They want the Kyūbi. That’s me. They invaded to get to me.”

“You are not the Kyūbi,” Minato’s voice was stern and not to be contradicted. He climbed to his feet, a brief grimace passing over his face before he took Naruto’s shoulders and gently spun him back into the room. Minato directed Naruto to the bed and settled down next to him so they were sitting facing each other on the unmade covers. “Naruto-chan, I want you to listen to me carefully. I can explain this, but you have to _listen_.”

Naruto nodded, desperate to find out why he had a demon inside of him and what he could do to fix it.

Minato look at him with a pained expression before getting up and pacing the room. After a few turns the Hokage spun back around, his once pristine hokage’s coat rumpled, torn, and stained beyond repair. Minato dropped back on the bed and ran a hand over his head with a huff. “There are…beings… in the world that are entirely made up of chakra called biju. The Kyūbi is one of them… A long time ago, people locked up the biju to keep them from destroying things. It’s very difficult to contain a biju because they’re all very powerful, but one of the ways is to put it in a person.”

“But why did they have to lock up the biju in the first place?” Naruto asked, confused as he watched his struggling father.

“It’s…complicated,” Minato sighed, frowning down at the bed before looking back up to Naruto. He placed his hands on either side on Naruto’s face, blue gaze locked on blue gaze. “What you need to understand right now is that you are not the Kyūbi. You’re guarding the Kyūbi, protecting the village from it by keeping it locked inside you, but that does _not_ make you the Demon Fox nor responsible for anything it does if it gets away. Do you understand?”

Naruto tried to nod but he couldn’t with his head captured.

“This is not your fault. Do you understand?” Minato asked again, more insistent. His gaze was so fierce Naruto couldn’t help but stare with wide eyes that stung and strained against tears.

“Yes,” Naruto breathed, unsure if he really believed it but unable to give any other response.

Minato pulled him into a crushing hug. “No you don’t,” Minato’s voice rumbled above him, more felt than heard. “But someday you will. I’ll make sure of it.”

* * *

Kakashi woke to muffled confusion. Something was terribly wrong, but he couldn’t grasp what it was. His thoughts were slow and muddled, smothered by exhaustion and the distinct cottony feel of pain relievers. He forced his eyes open as fragments of memory came back. He’d been behind enemy lines, in the heart of the Hokage Tower. There’d been a fight, he vaguely remembered that, but not how it ended.

There were gaps in Kakashi’s memory, but one thing he was sure of: he should not be lying in a hospital bed. Based on his last coherent recollection, the best he could hope for was capture by the enemy, or death. Neither one of those options bore much hope for a soft bed in Konoha’s hospital. Sliding his eyes around the room, he could see that indeed, Konoha’s hospital was where he was, but something was different. The hospital was on the Iwa side of the line, Kakashi remembered, though with the advances Konoha had been making it could have already been retaken. If it had been the case, it would have been in much worse shape than what Kakashi was currently seeing.

Closing his eyes, Kakashi strained himself looking for any evidence of a genjutsu, but there was none that he could detect. He was missing something, Kakashi knew it, but he couldn’t force his brain to work well enough to connect the clues.

The door opened and he swiveled his eyes again to catch sight of who it was. His head was too heavy to turn, and moving at all reminded him of the muffled pain burning through his limbs and especially his abdomen.

“Tsuande-sama,” Kakashi croaked, his eyes slowly taking in the blonde woman with disbelief. “You came back…did you hear about the invasion…?”

Tsuande kept her gaze focused on the clipboard, her heels clicking against the tiled floor as she stepped up to the bed. “Never left. Minato-kun seduced me with complete control over a brand new medical program and twice the funding before I could get out of the village.”

Kakashi blinked, trying to sort through the information. “But…I had heard…”

“Hemophobia?” Tsunade said. She looked up from the chart. If Kakashi had been well he would have read the warning signs in her sharp gaze and clipped movements as she dropped the clipboard to her side. “And don’t think that was easy to get past. You have the wrong village. You came through the mirror. Don’t you remember?”

Gathering his thoughts and memories around like so many scattered photographs, Kakashi could remember the fight right up to the point where he was run through. After that it became a haze. “Not particularly,” he said, frowning up to the ceiling noticing a distinct lack of a face mask.

Struggling to move, Kakashi inched the blanket up toward his face. However, even that small effort drained his already tired limbs and he was forced to stop before he made any headway.

Tsunade watched with a raised eyebrow before tsking at his efforts and pulling up the blanket to just over his nose. “You need to lie still and rest,” she said, making one final note on the chart before hanging it on the end of the bed. “You’re suffering from severe chakra depletion, exhaustion, and several wounds, the most extensive being the gaping hole through your middle. In all honesty, I’m surprised you’re not dead considering how far you pushed yourself.”

Tsunade’s voice took on a lecturing tone as she continued to drone on about getting rest and taking proper care of himself but Kakashi wasn’t listening. The door had opened at that moment and a head poked through. Kakashi slid his eyes to the newcomer, hoping it was a nurse who would distract Tsunade from her lecture, but his heart froze as he took in the face peering around the door. The sound dropped away and the world seemed to stop. The brown hair was a little longer than he remembered and the clothes were different, but everything else was the same from the kind eyes to the purple markings on either side of her face.

“Rin,” Kakashi breathed. His only focus was on the startled face looking back at him from the doorway.

“Idiot! What are you doing?” Tsunade said, the words lost on Kakashi, “You’re not strong enough to be moving around. Get back in bed!”

Kakashi had no time to heed the orders. He failed to register getting out of bed and immediately collapsing to the floor. He could only stare at his old teammate alive again in white-faced amazement as she rushed to his side and helped Tsunade lift him back to the bed.

“Rin,” Kakashi choked, struggling to reconcile the last time he saw his friend and the grown woman beside him. It was too much to take in with the chakra exhaustion and injury. It all combined to overwhelm him and before he could gasp out anything more the world tilted, heat rushed to his face, and dizziness overtook him plunging him back into darkness.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	19. Taking Stock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for the reviews and kudos! Sorry for the wait. I've been visiting family and being in the same house as a five year-old. three year-old, and six month old does not lend itself to working on personal projects. Hope you're all doing well! Here's the next chapter.

 

**Chapter 19: Taking Stock**

“Something’s happened,” Sarutobi said as he looked down at the map showing the latest distribution of forces within Konoha.

The Iwa forces were still slowly retreating as the defending Konoha-nin retook their village, but that was not what occupied Sarutobi’s attention. The new development that caught his eye was the change within the Amegakure lines.

By all reports, the Ame-nin had reconstituted, cut off the little help they were giving to the Iwa forces and focused their positions around the Hokage Tower. The distribution of troops was distinctly defensive with no indications they were preparing to attempt for any more territory. Considering the advance of the Konoha forces, the Ame forces would soon be completely separated from their ally making each more vulnerable. Tactical logic said the invaders should avoid that at all cost.

_Unless_ , Sarutobi thought to himself a cold hand gripping his heart, _Ame’s tactical goals had changed_.

“Have there been any unusual chakra signatures coming from the Ame lines?” the old Hokage asked, glaring at the circle on the map depicting the Tower.

“Uh,” the aide next to him stumbled, searching through the many reports from the day. For a moment, the only sound in the room was paper crinkling from the stacks of already wrinkled reports.

“Yes,” the chunnin said, scanning over a scrap of rice paper before holding it out with one hand to Sarutobi. The other hand was bandaged and bound close to his side.  He’d been wounded in action and was now fit for nothing more than helping the Hokage shuffle through paper. “But it was only a small chakra flare originating from the Tower.”

Sarutobi scanned the paper, feeling his heart constrict in dread. The chakra levels in the report, documented in detail by Konoha’s best sensors, would not be anything unusual, normally, but the location the chakra was concentrated in was worrying. The lower levels of the Hokage Tower were shielded to prevent chakra from the classified experiments and activities from leaking through and troubling the general population or raising unwanted questions. If the Tower and shields were damaged any chakra activity in the lower levels would start to leak through in muted levels. The fact that their sensors were picking up on anything from the Tower close to average chakra levels was very troubling.

Shifting his gaze back to the map, the Hokage ran his eyes over the line where the Iwa and Ame forces met. He wished Shikaku were present to consult with but the noted strategist was personally checking on ground situation at the moment. He would have to inform Shikaku of the new development when the Jounin commander returned. “Have our forces put pressure on this point between Iwa and Ame. We’ll drive a wedge between the two and isolate them. Keep the Iwa troops in check, but focus on the Ame lines.”

They needed to get to the Tower as quickly as possible.

* * *

Konan woke in a dim and bare prison cell. The fact that she had been captured was self-evident, but it took a moment to understand how. Waking was like coming out of a deep sleep, more like regaining consciousness after being knocked unconscious. That combined with the muzziness and disorientation convinced her she’d been caught in a genjutsu. Konan grimaced at the wall, silently berating herself. There were few who could trap her in such an attack, but she had not expected to face an Uchiha, especially not Uchiha Itachi.

That was the danger of running into a battle without knowing your enemy’s strengths beforehand. Konan sighed, rebuking herself all the more. She had known the dangers. She should have brought them to Nagato’s attention directly.

It would have done no good, though. He’d known the danger as well as she and he was right. They needed the Kyūbi and the invasion of Konoha could be their only chance to acquire it. For a brief moment during the battle, Konan had thought they were going to succeed.

It had started so well. The ANBU guards watching the mirror were woefully unprepared for Pain’s strength and they’d had the additional luck of one guard knowing the Kyūbi’s location. Ningendo easily ripped the information from them along with their spirit. Then it was only a matter of hiding their chakra enroute while the diversion drew all the attention. That was before they ran into Itachi.

Now, though, she wondered if capturing the demon fox would be possible considering all the defenses surrounding it. If it had been anyone else she would have said no, but Nagato had never failed at anything he set out to do.

If anyone could do it he could.

Pushing her still waking limbs to a standing position, Konan forced herself to walk around the small cell. The first short lap was to get her legs working properly, the second was to examine the room. There were no windows, in the door or the walls. The only light in the small room came from under the small crack beneath the door. It filtered into the gloom and gave the barest form to the pallet bed she had woken up on only minutes ago.

The light was too dim to see the walls properly, but Konan was sure they had chakra suppression seals embedded into them. Feeling along the door, she found a slot that could be opened for meals or conversing through the otherwise heavy metal barrier. She settled herself back onto the meager bed and considered her current situation.

They had taken all of her possessions, changed her into a loose fitting prisoner’s shirt and pants. In the dim light she couldn’t find any suppressant seals on her person and the chakra seals for the cell would almost certainly not extend out into the hallway. They wouldn’t want to handicap their own guards in maintaining control of the prisoners. It meant Konan would need a way out of the cell without chakra unless she could find a way around the seals but once she was out she would be able to use her techniques again. She could perhaps manage something small if she got a hand through the slot in the door. There was no latch to open the slot from inside, most likely it was secured against any prisoner attempting to open it.

It all meant that Konan’s best chance to escape would be when they took her out to question her and they would question her. She had too much valuable information they could use for them to not question her. After that, it would be a matter of getting into the Hokage Tower and back through the mirror to her own world. Retrieving the Kyūbi on her own, while an attractive idea, was unrealistic, and though the idea of being able to get back to Nagato was also unrealistic it still had more potential than the former. Her first goal was to get out of the prison where she was being held. Eyes roving the cell for any previous unnoticed vulnerability, Konan waited for her chance.

* * *

He was in a new room, that was the first thing Kakashi noticed the next time he opened his eyes. It was bigger than the first one, judging from the size of the ceiling. Moving was still difficult and painful, though not as difficult as the first fuzzy recollections he had of waking up.

The rustle of scroll paper caught his attention and for a moment Kakashi cursed himself for not noticing another person in the room right away. It took effort but eventually he managed to turn his head toward his company.

A heavily bandaged Jiraiya sat in the neighboring bed. He was propped up by pillows with his long white hair hanging loose around his shoulders. The older man frowned down at the scroll in his lap. It was a moment before he registered Kakashi’s gaze and looked up from the scroll.

“Well,” Jiraiya said, an earnest grin splitting his tired face, “Look who’s awake again.”

“Jiraiya-sama,” Kakashi said in the half croak he had been speaking in since waking. He had heard the toad sage had returned to Konaha to help battle the invasion, but hadn’t seen it himself. _Wait_ , Kakashi paused, _hadn’t Tsunade-sama said this was the other Konaha?_

Squeezing his eyes shut, Kakashi brought one heavy hand up to rub at them, only dimly acknowledging the action.

“You’re a little confused still,” Jiraiya said, deep voice resonating from the neighboring bed with amusement and pity. “This is another version of Konoha. One where-”

“Yes,” Kakashi croaked, not wanting the man to go any farther. The image of Rin standing in the doorway flashed through his mind and he didn’t want to hear anymore, only just starting to come to terms with the painful ramifications of his situation.

There was a moment of silence as Kakashi fought to control himself.

Jiraiya broke the pause with a light tone. “They put you in here so I can keep an eye on you.”

Kakashi seized on the lighter tone as he finally regained his customary appearance of apathy and pulled his hand away from a bland expression. “As if you’re one to talk,” he said, eyeing the bandaging covering much of Jiraiya’s visible body.

Jiraiya sniffed, turning his nose up and away. He smoothed out the scroll laying across his lap as he returned his gaze to the seal diagrams covering its surface. “I’m a model prisoner…er…patient, unlike you, trying to get out of bed after suffering severe chakra depletion and being impaled.”

A pair of footsteps stopped outside their room. Jiraiya threw his blanket over the scroll before dropping himself down on his pillows with a strangled gasp as their door slid open to reveal Tsunade.

“You’re awake, good,” Tsunade said moving to Kakashi’s bedside. She lifted the chart and notes hanging off the foot of the bed frame and started leafing through the pages with a furrowed brow. “You didn’t do yourself any favors with that stunt you pulled earlier. I’ve been tempted to keep you sedated just to give your body time to recoup before your mind gets thrown any more…unexpected surprises.”

Kakashi struggled to sit up, but ceased his efforts at a glare from Tsunade. “I actually feel much better than I was expecting,” he said, telling the truth. In all reality, several days ago he had expected to be dead, so anything more than that was an improvement.

Tsunade nodded, gesturing to a series of green crystals set on seals and positioned around the bed. Kakashi blinked noticing them for the first time and rebuking himself for the slip. “They’re chakra crystals,” Tsunade said hanging the chart back on the bed. “They emit a low level of healing chakra in the immediate vicinity. It helps the body recover faster from exhaustion and over doing it like you have. However, the hole through your middle will still have to heal the slow way, so don’t go thinking you can get out of bed and move around. I’m not above tying you down, if I have to.”

“And she means it,” Jiraiya said with a warning nod.

“You, too,” Tsunade growled, her hair whipping around her shoulders as she turned to glare at Jiraya.

The old man flinched back from the gaze, eyes going over wide.

“Now,” Tsunade said, turning back to Kakashi, “You’re going to have to convince me that you won’t try anything stupid, like getting out of bed, or collapsing if I’m going to allow visitors.”

Kakashi had doubts about how many visitors he could possibly have in an alternate dimension he had never been to before, but there was Rin and Naruto. That was two people, at least. So, he nodded his head with an earnest expression. “I’ll be fine.”

Tsunade stared at him from the foot of the bed, arms crossed just beneath her ample chest. “I doubt that,” she said but didn’t comment further.

“Is that why you climbed out of bed? Because he saw someone?” Jiraiya asked, alternating between looking at Kakashi and Tsunade.

Kakashi faltered at answering, he didn’t want to provide a history about why seeing Rin affected him so much, but he didn’t need to, Tsunade was already nodding for him.

“Took one look at Rin and fainted dead away, after trying to reach her.”

“Rin?” Jiraiya’s knowing grin split his face. “You lover-boy, you. Is it a very serious romance in your world? No, wait! You’ve been separated by the invasion and you weren’t sure if she was alive or dead.” The old writer grinned twisting his hands together. “I can just picture it now. I might even make it the plot for my next book. Don’t worry, I’ll change the names so no one will know it’s you.”

“Eh?” Kakashi gaped, wide eyed as he looked at Jiraiya.

“Ignore him,” Tsunade said with an eye roll and a glare sent to the old man. “He’s been trapped in here too long already, but unfortunately he’s still not well enough for us to kick him out.” She turned her attention back to Kakashi. “Considering the classified nature of how you came into this world, your presence here is considered a state secret, but I’ll let the Hokage know he and a select few will be permitted to visit now.”

“Thank you,” Kakashi said, he tore his wide eyes away and struggled to place a neutral expression on his face. He thought a moment before asking, “Who is the Hokage here?”

There was a pregnant pause as the medical-nin measured him with her gaze, seemingly assessing his vitals with a mere look. “Namikaze Minato is currently the Yondaime Hokage.”

Kakashi made an extra effort to keep his face composed. He only managed it because of the mask. He should have expected that. There was the vaguest memory of the Yellow Flash streaking past him just before he blacked out during the battle. He’d thought it was a delusion, but that probably was Minato, racing to close the portal as fast as The Yellow Flash had ever been.

Tsunade spoke again, drawing Kakashi out of his circling thoughts. “He may be by in a day or two to visit and ask some questions, so it’s just as well that you have some advance warning. It’ll come as less of a shock, I suppose. As it is, between the secret nature of you being here and your…previous reactions, for the time you’ll only have a limited number of approved visitors, the Hokage, Naruto, and I suppose Rin and your counterpart if you think you can handle it. Hopefully you won’t swoon all over yourself again.”

“I didn’t _faint_ ,” Kakashi said. Really, people were making too big a deal about him passing out after seeing Rin.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, turning toward the door as her heals clicked across the tiles. “Get some rest, Lover-boy. You’re still recovering.”

“I’m not a lover-boy,” Kakashi said, but the door was already swinging shut behind the medic. From the bed next to him Jiraiya just laughed.

“I think it’s too late to protest.” Jiraiya grinned.

“Well, at least I’m not afraid of Tsunade-sama,” Kakashi muttered looking pointedly at the scroll still hidden under Jiraiya’s blanket.

“What?” the older man shrugged, pulling out the forbidden object. “She’s scary. You haven’t seen how scary she can be so I don’t want to hear it.” Jiraiya turned back to the scroll.

Kakashi knew the Sannin Medic could be scary, but he was sure he’d never been misfortunate or thoughtless enough to incur the woman’s true wrath. He’d take Jiraiya’s word for it.

Silence fell over the room punctuated by the occasionally crinkle of Jiraiya’s scroll and a pen against paper. Kakashi tried to imagine what it would be like being confronted by Minato-sensei. The last time he’d seen the man had been the day of the Kyūbi’s attack. Then there was Rin, as well. How could he explain why he reacted as strongly as he had? He honestly didn’t want to think about his counterpart, what he would have been if he had grown up in the happier world. This felt too much like a dream and he was still too numb to process any of it.

“Is the Village secure?” Kakashi asked, staring at the ceiling.

“The Village is secure,” Jiraiya said.

“And the mirror?”

“You don’t have to worry about any of that at the moment,” the old Sannin said with easy reassurance. “You can rest for now.”

Sighing, Kakashi repositioned himself before closing his eyes intent on more sleep.

* * *

Pain bent over the mountain of scrolls and papers heaped upon the Hokage’s desk. Frowning down at one passage he reached for another book and slapped it down next to him. A pile of messages from the Iwa commander toppled to the ground in a flurry of paper. Most of them remained unopened and unread and the few Pain had deigned to look at he’d no more than skimmed. He had no interest in Iwa’s weakening position or in keeping the city in the long term.

The invasion had served its purpose. Not only had Konoha’s power been drastically cut, so had Iwa’s strength been radically reduced, particularly after the Konoha forces eventually drove them from the city. Those were two of the three main forces that stood as a threat against Amegakure and Pain, himself. The Kyūbi would keep all others in check, but a new objective had risen before all others and it drove him to his frenzied search over papers and theory.

He had to get Konan back.

Pain couldn’t bear losing the only remaining person he considered family. His parents were gone, Jiraiya-sensei had abandoned them, Yahiko was gone. Konan was all he had left. He forced back the self recriminations at sending her on such a dangerous mission in the first place. He should have considered the maker of the Mirror, the blasted Fourth Hokage himself, would have a way to sever the connection between the worlds. The Kyūbi was important and he knew sending his Paths on the mission was the only solution possible, but he should have sent another Path of Pain, not Konan. He could always find new bodies for the Paths, but his childhood friend was irreplaceable.

And now she was captured.

Glaring down over the papers and charts, Nagato willed something more to jump out of the pages, anything that would help him reopen the mirror or even build another if it was the only way. He’d mis-stepped, misjudged his move when he’d opened the mirror without fully understanding it. It was a mistake he didn’t often make, but they’d been so close to the Kyūbi and its vast and unique supply of chakra…

Pain paused, gaze focusing on somewhere beyond the scroll in front of him.

Chakra…the mirror worked entirely off of chakra. Pushing papers aside, Pain dug out the chakra diagram he had made of the mirror, eyes devouring the schematic with frantic concentration. The crystal itself naturally connected the two worlds by its very existence. In a sense, there was only one mirror and the worlds branched out from it like two sides of a window. The only thing that determined whether the connection was useable was the amount of chakra that went through the crystal. There needed to be a minimal amount for the mirror to open, that was simple to understand and see. The crystal was designed to withstand immense amounts of chakra thanks to the high concentration of chakra which was required to simply make a visible connection. The seal that the Yondaime used to shut down the mirror used an even greater amount of chakra to overwhelm those same systems and shut them down immediately...but what if Pain introduced a small amount of chakra to the mirror, a miniscule amount.

All Pain really needed to do was reopen the chakra paths and a slow, steady stream of chakra might just coax the channels open again.

Pain pulled out a fresh sheet of paper, ready to set down his plan. It would take time, longer than he really wanted. There was also the matter of how he would retrieve both Konan and the Kyūbi back from a world defended by the Yondaime Hokage. If the choice came down to one or the other, Pain knew he wouldn’t be able to leave Konan behind. Still, that decision would come after he could open the portal again. Any plan he devised later would have to start with opening a door back into that other world and time was of the essence.

The key to fixing the mirror was chakra and that was something Pain had in spades.

* * *

Minato focused on the task before him, brush in one hand and can of chakra-infused paint in the other. It was a good break to focus on one simple task for a moment instead of trying to unravel the extremely complicated situation that had developed. His hand remained steady tracing the outline of the seal even as a gasp cut through the quiet behind him.

Finishing the complicated design, Minato glanced behind him to the bed offering an apologetic smile as he sidestepped to a new spot on the wall. “Sorry if I woke you,” he said to the wide-eyed Kakashi. Jiraiya slept soundly across the room, a soft snore reverberating through his lungs. Part of Minato wondered if Tsunade was drugging her fellow Sannin to keep him in bed.

“It’s alright…Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said, voice quiet and hesitant, eye never wavering from Minato’s face.

“I probably should have given you more warning. This has been a shock to you.” Minato looked over his student’s counterpart, noting the still pale and drawn face. This was probably like seeing a ghost for Kakashi. Minato remembered how he felt the first moment he realized who Naruto was, “shocked” was probably an understatement. Even with that, Kakashi still looked better than the last time Minato had seen him.

“It’s alright,” Kakashi repeated, tearing his eyes away to look down at his knees with a frown. “Tsunade-sama told me you were hokage, but I don’t think any amount of warning would have helped.”

“At least, you didn’t faint like when you saw Rin-san. Tsunade would have thrown me out.” Minato’s attempt at levity fell short, drawing only the thin outline of a weak smile from the silver-haired man. An awkward silence descended for a moment before Minato asked, “How _are_ you feeling?”

“Better than I would have expected,” Kakashi said, carefully pushing himself up into a sitting position. “I think I have Tsunade’s chakra therapy to thank for that.”

Minato nodded, glad he had given the medical expert as much support and leeway as he had. There’d been a lot of push back from the old warhorses when he’d first backed Tsunade and expanded the Village’s medical division. The move had been expensive at first and drew needed manpower from other divisions, but it was moments such as these when developments such as the chakra therapy proved their worth that he counted his blessings he hadn’t listened to the naysayers.

“Are you feeling up to a few questions?” Minato asked.

“You want to know how it all started and what the current situation is.” Kakashi, ever the skilled shinobi and sharp mind, knew exactly what Minato needed to know.

Minato nodded, eyes glancing to the door to make sure Tsunade wasn’t coming back. Tsunade would disapprove. Kakashi needed more rest, but time was not on their side and Minato knew Kakashi was tough. The white-haired man could take it. After all, no matter what universe he was from, Minato had still trained this man.

Kakashi was silent a moment as he visibly assembled his thoughts. “It really started over a year ago. We started receiving intelligence about an underground criminal organization called Atkatsuki. The intel didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary at first. It was all just rumors about a new gang trying to carve a niche for themselves. Then, our operatives working the case started disappearing. There were reports of attempts to gain information on the Bijū, not just one or two from a specific nation, but all of them, the Kyūbi included.”

“How wide spread was the information that Naruto was the Kyūbi’s jinchuricki?” Minato asked, he didn’t want to interrupt Kakashi’s story, but he was impatient for any information he could gain on his son.

Kakashi shook his head, a small, pained movement but better than what the silver-haired man could do a few days ago. “The Sandaime declared the information a Class-A secret and ordered everyone in the village to never speak of it, especially to Naruto. He had hoped the younger generation, Naruto’s peers and all others that came after would not inherit the prejudice that came with the knowledge, but…”

“They still learned to ostracize him from their parents. They just didn’t know why,” Minato finished for him, grimacing to himself. Laws could not change human nature, no matter how well intentioned they were.

Kakashi dropped his eyes, face drawn by a frown in silent agreement.

Minato shook himself back to the conversation. He glanced back to the wall, before giving up the thought of painting any other seals during the conversation. “Please continue.”

“We received word that Iwa was increasing their troop movements,” Kakashi said after a moment, picking up where he left off, “At first, it was thought to be training, something to keep an eye on, but nothing to cause too much alarm. Then, the units disappeared from our surveillance. The next time we saw them they were at the edges of the Village.”

Minato squeezed his eyes close, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand, the other was occupied by the paint can and brush. That was a situation no leader wanted to encounter, suddenly confronted by a large military force appearing at your gates, with little to no warning, it was a nightmare. “How much of the village were they able to take?”

Kakashi ran a tired hand through his already mussed hair. “When I left, they had the Hokage Tower, the front gate, and the hospital. At the high watermark, they had control of perhaps 60% of the Village, but we’ve been gaining ground. They might even have taken back the main gate by now.”

Minato shook his head as he moved to the bedside chair. He placed the paint can on the floor, setting the brush on top of it before leaning his elbows onto his knees. “How many casualties have you suffered?”

“Too many,” came the brief reply. Kakashi drew in a breath before he continued in a level tone. “We got the civilians in the shelters as quickly as we could. There’s been much talk of moving them away from the village entirely, but we don’t have the man power to protect them and there’s the worry the enemy will attack them on the road to draw our troops away from the front lines. The higher level shinobi have mostly survived with only minor injuries and fatigue, but the junior ranks…they just weren’t prepared for all out war. It’s been so long since we had one, almost ten years.”

“You don’t need to explain,” Minato said, catching Kakashi’s eye. “I understand.”

It had been a decade since Minato’s own Konoha had been to war. They still trained their shinobi recruits as well as they could, better even since they didn’t have to rush their young immediately out onto the battlefield. However, training only went so far and the practical experience most shinobi acquired these days ran along the lines of conducting patrols, fighting criminals, and one on one combat, not full-fledged battles to the death between armies. The mentality was just different, more brutal.

“Is there any sign the enemy will bring in reinforcements? Would you be able to stop them if they tried?” Minato asked. He needed to understand the situation in its entirety.

“I don’t think they’ll be able to move in anymore troops.” Kakashi said through a thoughtful frown. “There are two groups that made up the invading forces, Iwagakure and Amegakure. The Iwa forces seem to hold the most ground of the two, but Ame’s troops hold the Tower.” Kakashi glanced around himself a moment and Minato, anticipating his needs, found a sheet of paper for him.

“At first, they were working together, but in the last few days our intelligence has been reporting that the Ame forces have been focused on holding the Tower and nothing else, even though the Iwa troops have been losing some of their ground.” Kakashi said as he drew out a sketch of the city and the front lines as they stood the last time he knew. “When the invading forces gained a foothold in the city and it became obvious we wouldn’t be able to push them out immediately, the Sandaime ordered some of our forces to gather the patrols and form a line to prevent any enemy reinforcements from getting through. It made defending against the invasion a little more difficult in the short term, but we can’t afford the enemy to receive any relief.”

Minato nodded as he looked over the map and disposition of Kakashi’s village. It was a difficult situation no matter how you looked at it, but if Kakashi was correct and Iwa’s forces had started losing ground, the other Konoha might still be salvageable.

“The Sandaime believed the invasion had at least two purposes,” Kakashi said after a moment, “One being to reduce our military power, which they certainly have done, and the second to acquire the Kyūbi.”

“Which they’re still attempting,” Minato agreed. Laying the map on the bedside table, he pushed himself out of the chair and moved back to the next space on the wall needing a seal. “I’m going to have Naruto moved here for the time being. The house needs repairs and I can’t spare enough shinobi to look after him with the increased patrols, repairs, and wounded.”

Minato finished the seal and shuffled down to the next spot. “He’ll probably be bouncing off the walls by the end of the day, so hopefully it’ll only be a temporary situation until there’s a better solution to be had.” At least, Minato was hoping Naruto would be bouncing off the walls. That would be better than the semi-depressed funk that the boy had been sliding into since learning about the Kyūbi. He glanced back when the silence stretched longer than he expected.

Kakashi’s eyes were fixed on his lap but his gaze was unfocused, a million miles away. His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times as he swallowed, then cleared his throat. “We’ll look after him, Sensei,” Kakashi said, his voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. He seemed paler than he was when he first woke up.

Minato’s face crinkled with worry, tempted to ask what had happened to Kakashi since his counterpart’s death, but he held himself back. Kakashi had always been reserved and this one seemed more-so than his own. “I know you will,” Minato threw a weak smile over his shoulder before turning back to his seal. “I will have guards here looking after the three of you so if for some reason you are threatened by an enemy, let them take care of it. You and Jiraiya are to focus on getting yourselves and Naruto to safety. Neither of you are in any shape to fight if you can avoid it.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said, voice subdued.

“You should know Naruto’s been having difficulty with the Kyūbi’s chakra since arriving here. I won’t go into all the details, but in this world the Kyūbi was temporarily dispersed leaving behind its latent chakra. The chakra is being drawn to Naruto and entering through his seal, making it difficult for him to control the Kyūbi. These seals help control the problem and I’ll leave you both plenty of chakra suppressant seals in case you need to leave the safe area. I’m not expecting there to be any instance where that becomes necessary, but it’s best to be prepared.”

“We’ve had more than our fair share of bad luck,” Kakashi agreed. His voice came just above a murmur and was followed by a loud yawn.

“Get some sleep,” Minato said. The suggestion was unnecessary. He could already hear Kakashi’s breathing even out behind him.

Hours later found Minato in the lower levels of the Hokage Tower staring at the cracked mirror as he thought about what Kakashi had revealed concerning what had happened on the other side. He ran a hand over the black glass, touch feather-light, barely brushing the uneven cracks marring the surface of the mirror. Grabbing a light, he turned it one way then the other as he bent to see the damage from all angles. In some ways, the natural sunlight that filtered though from the hole in the ceiling and wall hindered his ability to fully examine the mirror by washing out the more direct artificial lights. He’d compensated by commandeering some of the very bright surgical lamps from the hospital, thankful that they had enough spares in storage to accommodate him.

The cracks radiated out from Minato’s experimental seal, fracturing the muted image reflected by the inactive mirror. With the flurry of Kakashi’s double coming through and Naruto’s…incident, then with the needs of his son and the village Minato hadn’t had a chance to thoroughly examine the damage until that moment almost two days after the fact.

The fractures were superficial, none of them deep or wide enough to risk shattering the mirror in half but they were still enough to break up the dull image reflected back in a kaleidoscope of shapes. Minato traced the larger cracks with a frown. Some of them were sharp enough to cut, but there was something more going on beneath the surface.

Closing his eyes, Minato flattened his palm against the fractured crystal. He sat still a moment, letting himself feel the mirror under his hand. With the seal he had created the chakra crystal should be inert, similar to any ordinary rock picked off the ground. The chakra flow should be cut and incapable of moving through the channels until the seal was removed. If the technique worked as it was meant to, that is. It was all so experimental, from the mirror to the various seals developed to control it, there was really no way to be sure how anything would react.

Minato felt it after a few moments. Sitting completely still, focusing on nothing but the mirror under his hand, he could just trace the barest hint of chakra running deep under the surface. It was faint, could be completely missed in a cursory check, but it was there pulsing along the cracks created by his seal. The sensation was so faint it felt more like an echo, but despite this he could tell the chakra was not his own.

At first glance, the faint chakra pulse didn’t seem to be doing anything. The Looking Glass was designed to handle a much larger flow of power to make it work, but looks could be deceiving. Just because it didn’t seem to be doing anything didn’t mean it was benign. Examining the mirror again, Minato found nothing that could be the cause of the faint chakra traces, which meant the chakra flow was likely coming from the other side and the enemy.

Sitting back on his heels, Minato glared at the one-time science project turned dangerous threat. Even deactivated, the Mirror remained a liability. The temptation to destroy it was still strong, but so was the desire to help the other Konoha. Then, there was the other Kakashi. He deserved a chance to at least try to go back to his world if that was what he wanted.

Pain was attempting something, his next move, in the other world, certainly another attempt to get the Kyūbi and retrieve the prisoner, Konan, Minato’s Konoha held. There wasn’t enough information to know exactly what technique Pain was attempting, but based on what Minato now knew from the other Kakashi he was certain it was another method to open the doorway between their worlds. Minato couldn’t continue to wait for the enemy to make their move and he wasn’t quite ready to completely destroy the Mirror, either. He needed to develop his own plans past simply defending his Konoha from invasion. Pushing to his feet, he turned back toward the stairs and his office. It was time to go on the offensive.

**TBC…**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	20. Prisoners

 

**Chapter 20: Prisoners**

 “The questioning won’t remain this easy for long,” the shinobi said, stern frown on his face. “We’re giving you a chance to work with us in exchange for less retribution for attacking our village, but if you don’t start cooperating soon, we’ll be forced to resort to less pleasant means to get what we want.”

The threat did little to intimidate Konan. She had grown up through Amegakure’s Wars. She’d fought against Hanzou since she was a teenager. She’d experienced torture and capture before and she was prepared for it again. Still and silent, she kept her eyes fixed straight ahead all the while observing the room and everyone within it. There was little hope she would be able to escape from her cell on her own so any attempt would have to be made in the short time she was outside of it.

The current interrogation room, though not as secure as her cell, would also be difficult to work with after they restrained her in her place. They used chakra repressing cuffs on her wrists and ankles, tying her to the uncomfortable wooden chair. The restraints weren’t as effective in blocking her chakra as the cell, but she would never gather enough to conduct any kind of meaningful attack.

However, there was a moment when they transferred her in and out of the chair that she had no restraints on at all. It was a brief window of time, too short for most shinobi to make any kind of move and only happened because they underestimated her. Still, it was enough to work with for the moment. Ignoring the questions and threats from the shinobi sitting across from her, Konan focused on molding what little chakra she could manifest.

When the interrogator finally grew tired of talking without any response, he called for the guards to come and take Konan back to her cell. They came into the room, three of them. Two unlocked her from her seat while the third stood ready to counter any attack she attempted.

As soon as the first restraint dropped from her wrist, Konan focused on trickling the little chakra she had into the interrogator’s papers sitting on the desk. As the second restraint dropped away she expanded the flow and hastily built more chakra. The guards finally noticed the small flow when the last restraint released her ankle. The two holding her reacted to the chakra manipulation instantly, slamming her against the table and pulling her arms behind her to prevent any hand signs.

Konan grit her teeth as one heavy hand pushed her cheek into the metal table with bruising force. They yelled at her to stop but the contact with the paper just made it easier to infuse her chakra into it. Then the handcuffs clicked over her wrists and the chakra flow stopped dead. The contrast was drastic and made her gasp for a moment as though she’d been punched in the gut.

“Get her back to the cell,” the interrogator growled, scooping up his papers. “We might just move on to the next stage all the sooner after that little stunt.”

The guards dragged her back into the hallway. It took a few steps for Konan to regain her footing and bearings, but when the initial disorientation from being so abruptly cut off from her chakra cleared she could feel it. It was small and weak, barely noticeable if you weren’t looking for it but there – the clear almost unconscious link with the papers from the interrogation room. Head hanging low as the guards pushed her back into her cell, Konan forced herself not to smile.

* * *

“How is he doing?”

The muffled voice through the door drew Naruto’s attention. He pulled his head around to look at the door, staring at the crack along the bottom of the frame.

“He hasn’t wanted to leave his room, not even to eat, not even for ramen,” Rin’s voice was dampened by the wood and the low tone she used, but in the stillness Naruto could hear it plainly and it made him frown.

That wasn’t true…well, not entirely. He had refused to leave his room and at first he hadn’t wanted to eat. Then Rin had sat down outside his door with two bowls of steaming miso-pork ramen. Eventually, the enticing aroma drifting into his room drove Naruto to open the door. They shared a quiet meal sitting on the floor across the threshold.

“Alright,” Minato said, the silence eating up the Hokage’s sigh.

Naruto pressed up against the door, trying to catch anything else being said, only to jump back when Minato’s voice came from much closer.

“Naruto?” Minato knocked, “Are you asleep? I’m coming in.”

Naruto scrambled up on the bed as the door opened and Minato stepped into the room. He had changed clothes from the bloody and torn uniform Naruto had last seen him in, but the Hokage still looked rumpled and worn. Minato spotted him sitting on the bed.

“It’s almost dinner time, why don’t you come down to the kitchen?”

Naruto eyed the door with a suspicious frown. “Why can’t we eat it up here?”

Minato sank to the bed with a tired sigh. “Why don’t you want to leave the room?”

Gesturing to the front of the house Naruto explained the obvious. “The front wall’s busted. What if the Kyūbi’s chakra gets in?”

The light of understanding filled Minato’s face. “Oh, you’re worried you’ll lose control again.”

Naruto nodded, gripping the edge of the bed. He stared at Minato as the man rubbed at his tired face, willing his father to say that wouldn’t happen again. Naruto was tired of the room, but he didn’t want to risk hurting his new friends again, not after he’d seen what had happened to those enemy shinobi.

Minato wrapped an arm around Naruto’s shoulders. “I won’t lie, there is some risk,” he said, pulling Naruto into the warmth of his side. “But it’s a small risk and there are people here that will make sure nothing happens to you or anyone else.”

Naruto huffed, glaring down at his hands. He wanted to believe Minato, he really did, but thinking of the red chakra swirling up to engulf him made him pause. To make matters worse, the subtle itching in the back of his thoughts had returned. It had almost been forgotten in the chaos of the battle, but now that everything had died down again it returned with a vengeance, that small impulse that he needed to be somewhere and doing something. Naruto didn’t know which was worse: being cooped up in his room forever with this restlessness or being possessed by the Demon Fox.

“You have to be brave,” Minato said before squeezing Naruto once and loosening his hold to look down again. “A lot of resisting the fox will depend on you and your determination.”

That drew Naruto’s head up, tilting back to look at his father. “But the Kyūbi’s too strong.”

“Yes, the Kyūbi’s very strong,” Minato agreed with a nod. “But I think you’re stronger.”

“You think so?” Naruto asked, feeling stricken. No one had ever told him he was strong before. He was practically dead last in his class.

“You still need practice and training, and you have a long way to go in your studies,” Minato’s face flashed stern for a moment before softening again, “but yes. I don’t think the…person in your world who put the fox inside of you would have done so if they thought you weren’t up to the challenge.”

Naruto remained silent, weighing the new information against everything else he had known. He wanted to be strong, he practiced every day to be the best in the whole school, but he always seem to fall short, to fail. For all the trying and the bragging and confidence he projected it didn’t change the outcome of the tests and sparring matches.

“Naruto,” Minato said again, interrupting the boy’s spiraling thoughts. “You’re the son of ninjas, and if there’s one thing ninjas can do it’s endure. You’ll get through this, you’ll get better, master it, and someday surpass it.”

Naruto remained silent a moment, it felt like the words were sinking into him, bolstering his flagging confidence. He stared at the floor, solemn as he thought back to something Iruka had told their class. It was something to do with everyone being a beginner at some point and not getting frustrated or something like never giving up. “Do you think I could surpass you? Become Hokage someday?”

Minato laughed, but it wasn’t mocking, it was warmer, kinder, and when he smiled it was filled with pride. It warmed Naruto down to the tips of his toes and made him want to try and live up to that pride, surpass his father and know that Minato wouldn’t be angry about it but happy. “Yes, you could,” Minato said with a wide grin, “But you’re really going to have to work to do that. I won’t go down so easily. You have to earn the position of Hokage, you know.”

“That’s alright,” Naruto said, scrubbing at his eyes before grinning up at Minato. “I’m the son of a Hokage, I can handle it.”

“I know you can,” Minato said with a confident nod. He gave one last squeeze to Naruto’s shoulder before standing up. “Let’s go down and see about some lunch, then, shall we? After that I have something I want you to do for me.”

“Really?” Naruto asked, craning his neck back to look at his father as they walked out of the bed room and down the hall.

The Hokage looked down at him from the corner of his eye, mouth curled just ever so slightly on one side. “Jiraiya needs someone to look after him in the hospital, make sure he doesn’t get out of bed and strain himself. The Kakashi from your world could also do with some looking after, too. Do you think you can handle that?”

Naruto hesitated a moment, eyes flickering to the heavy duty tarp nailed over the holes in the wall.

“You don’t have to worry about the Kyūbi, I’ve warded the hospital room, so you won’t have to worry about any of that while you’re in their room.” Minato paused on the staircase, several steps lower than Naruto and almost eye level. “I know I can trust you with this.”

Something filled Naruto up from the inside. It was like before when Minato said he believed Naruto could beat the Kyūbi, but even more. Now the Hokage was actually relying on him. It was like a mission, but better. He nodded, eager grin trembling to burst out on his face. “Don’t worry. I’ll look after them, dattebyo.”

* * *

“ELEVEN?” Kakashi gasped, wide eyes locked on Jiraiya.

Jiraiya nodded, a smug smile encompassing his face. “I’m working on the twelfth book now, but it’s going a little slower than the last couple. I need to find myself some new inspiration and with how busy things have gotten since Naruto appeared I haven’t had the chance.” His gaze turned reflective as he focused somewhere in the far distance. “Maybe when this is all over and done I should book myself a stay in a spa, maybe a week or two. That’ll probably help.”

“Eleven,” Kakashi breathed again to himself. There were only four books in the Icha Icha series in his own world and the story was really starting to pick up between them, the mystery, the romance, the love triangles. For all that Kakashi hated drama and hassles in his own life he loved to read about them in fiction.

Jiraiya chuckled from his own bed. “I see you’re as much of a fan as our own Kakashi.”

“Yes…well…” Kakashi searched for some kind of reply. He had specifically avoided thinking about his counterpart and what it must have been like living in a world where both Rin and Minato survived. Dwelling on it was definitely the first stop on a very dangerous road of regret and guilt that could leave a person paralyzed. He’d seen it happen before in colleagues and was determined not to go down that route.

Thankfully, a nurse chose that moment to enter the room, flashing a brief glimpse of the hall and the guards stationed outside before she closed the door behind her. She smiled in greeting to Kakashi and Jiraiya, “Good afternoon, Jiraiya-sama, Kakashi-san. How are you both feeling?”

Jiraiya beamed at her “Good enough to go to lunch with you, my little cherry blossom.”

The young nurse blushed, a small smile spreading to her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Jiraiya-sama. Tsunade-sama has warned me about you. You’re not to strain yourself yet by excessive mobility.”

“Tsunade,” Jiraiya grumbled under his breath, “always ruining my fun.”

The nurse made a sympathetic sound before moving to take care of her duties, checking the charts, replacing the water pitcher, and changing the sheets for the beds. All the while Kakashi brooded on the slow recovery he was making even with the initial aid provided by Tsunade’s chakra crystals. He clung to the bedside table and strained to remain on two feet, refusing the wheel chair while the nurse changed the bed sheets.

“If there’s anything you need please don’t hesitate to ask,” the nurse said when she had finished, standing by the door.

Kakashi hesitated. She probably wouldn’t appreciate the request but he was going to be trapped in bed for another couple of days and it would help while away the time. Besides, what harm was there in asking? “Well, there is one thing…” Still, he hesitated. His instincts were telling him this was not a good idea.

The nurse smiled stepping closer to the bed. “Oh, please Kakashi-san, anything at all. I know you’ve had a trying time.”

“Well, the boredom is getting to me. I was wondering if you could pick up the first six books of the Icha Icha series for me,” Kakashi paused as the nurse’s face turned a bright red, only just realizing he had no money to pay for them and couldn’t expect the nurse to buy them from her own money. “You can charge them to Jiraiya’s account,” he added helpfully.

Kakashi blinked in surprise when the nurse, bright red by now, slapped him. “I am willing to do almost anything for my patient’s,” she drew herself up in righteous offence, “but I will most certainly not buy you _porn_.” She spun on her heel, every inch the offended medical nin and stepped out of the room, Jiraiya’s deep laughter following her into the hallway.

“She must be one of Tsunade’s apprentices,” the older man chuckled as he finally got control of his breathing again. “You’re lucky all she did was slap you for that.”

“Eh, you’re probably right,” Kakashi agreed slouching down in the newly made bed. Maybe he’d be able to get the other books another time, maybe he’d be able to take them back with him. Who knew if they’d ever get written in his own world, considering how everything had fallen apart. The Jiraiya from his world was going to be just too busy focusing on his espionage network to write that many books.

Rolling over, Kakashi pulled the sheet over his head. Nothing to read, nothing to do, and not a lot to say at the moment, the best thing he could do was sleep. Perhaps, he would feel better when he woke again.

A couple hours must have passed by the time Kakashi woke up again. The sun streamed in from a completely different angle and two lunch trays sat on the rolling bedside tables, one picked over and the other untouched. Kakashi assumed the second lunch was his, but made no move for it. His appetite still hadn’t returned to normal, one of the side effects for overdosing on soldier pills.

Jiraiya was back to working on his seals in the quiet room, blanket ready to throw over the pens, scrolls, and paper in case a nurse came by to check on them. Kakashi sighed in the quiet room, the sound just barely covered by the scratching of the older man’s pen. After constantly doing something, moving, fighting, working, in the fight to reclaim Konoha, the sudden forced inactivity grated against Kakashi’s nerves. In many ways, he felt more stressed and tense sitting here in a clean bed when he knew his fellow shinobi were fighting for their lives in another world than he would if he had been with them.

Without warning, Minato-sensei and Naruto appeared in the center of the room with the tell-tale Hiraishin. Naruto stumbled but Minato kept the boy from falling with a hand on his shirt collar. Jiraiya’s head shot up as one hand flung the blanket over his work.

“Don’t worry, Sensei,” Minato said, making sure Naruto was steady before letting go. “I won’t tell Tsunade about your illicit seal studies when you should be resting.”

“I’ve been _resting_ for too long already,” Jiraiya spat the word as though it was personally offensive. He turned to fully face his former student mouth opening to continue, but stopped as a grunt escaped instead and a hand went up to his side.

“Tsunade knows what she’s talking about when it comes to healing, Sensei, and you’re not as young as you used to be.” Minato smiled and strode to Jiraiya’s bed looking down at the man with crossed arms for a moment before turning his gaze to the seals he had placed on the wall.

Kakashi barely noticed the exchange. All of his attention was focused on Naruto. He hadn’t seen the boy since the night the attack first began and he couldn’t help but look Naruto over for any signs of injury or distress. There were some scratches across his face but they looked to be days old, almost gone. He looked tired and pale, much paler than Kakashi had ever seen. Naruto was always and active child his energy never ending and uncontrollable indoors. They must have been keeping him out of sight.

Naruto spun, looking around at the new room, the initial curiosity on his face fading as he took in the standard hospital room. His face brightened again, though when his eyes landed on Kakashi. “Kakashi!” He jumped on the bed and scrambled up to the headboard. “What happened to you?”

“Eh,” Kakashi said, trying to cover the moment’s hesitation at Naruto’s reaction to him. Before the invasion Naruto didn’t even know who he was, now he seemed genuinely pleased to see Kakashi. Except, it wasn’t really Kakashi himself that had gained Naruto’s friendship, it was the other Kakashi, the one who lived in this world with Rin and Minato. Kakashi squelched a brief pang of jealousy. “I think it’d be shorter to list what didn’t happen to me,” he said with a light tone.

There was a moment where Naruto focused on Kakashi’s face, eyes squinted and searching. “You’re Kakashi from my world…right?”

Kakashi nodded, unsure what else to say.

“What’s…what’s happened to our Konoha?” Naruto asked, his face was compressed in a serious line, more serious than anything Kakashi had ever seen on Naruto.

Kakashi was very aware of how quiet the room had grown. From somewhere he managed a weak smile and put a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Naruto. We’re holding our own. The Sandaime wouldn’t let anything happen to the village.”

Naruto seemed to relax after hearing that, face brightening up again as he hopped off the bed and began examining the room in detail. A quick sidelong glance at Minato and Jiraiya showed matching grim expressions and for a moment the three adults in the room shared the understanding of how very serious things were in the other Konoha.

Minato shook himself away from the dark thoughts first. Stepping to the door he stopped to put a hand on Naruto’s head. “I have to get back to my duties now.  The room and the adjoining bathroom is warded as well as a little bit of the hallway as a buffer. Try not to leave this suit if you can avoid it, though.”

Naruto nodded, hesitated a moment before throwing his arms around Minato’s middle. The following smile chased any remaining shadows from Minato’s face. Kakashi was transported back to a time before everything had gone wrong, when Minato was just learning he was going to be a father or when he’d announced his and Kushina’s engagement and all the other moments of happiness between. It hurt to watch.

“Keep an eye on them for me,” Minato said, still talking to Naruto as he pulled away from the hug, and then swept out the door.

* * *

“This is one of the invaders?” the medical nin asked, frowning at the red-haired corpse before him.

“Yes,” Tsunade said examining the body herself. The long hair had been dyed to the alarming shade and the body was pale, covered with piercings. There was no visible sign of cause of death, no visible sign of injury at all which was odd considering Tsunade was certain she had smashed the summoning shinobi several times. Very high level ninja could avoid major injury in such fights through a combination of chakra manipulation and knowledge of how to roll with the impact of their opponents attacks, however it was unheard of to get out unscathed, without so much as a scratch of a major battle. This body had simply dropped dead for no apparent reason and Tsunade was sure when she examined the other two red-haired corpses that they would be the same.

Then there were the eyes, the legendary Rinnegan.

Tsunade was sure examining these three red haired corpses was the key to uncovering Nagato’s weakness and eventually defeating him. She didn’t believe that destroying the mirror would keep their world safe. What would prevent Pain from creating another mirror? No, they had to stop the hostilities at the source and that meant destroying Nagato’s ability to attack them at all. Minato intended to do precisely that, but if he wanted to win he needed to have every advantage he could get.

“Shizune, begin the autopsy on this one, don’t over look any detail and report back to me as soon as you are done,” Tsunade said looking to her best and oldest apprentice.

“Hai, Tsunade-sama,” Shizune nodded, already prepping herself for the autopsy.

Turning to the door, Tsunade left to check on her other responsibilities, knowing Shizune would uncover whatever secrets the corpse held. Hopefully, it would be enough to give them a winning edge.

* * *

Naruto lay curled up asleep on Kakashi’s bed, settled down for a much needed nap after examining the entire room and specifically each of the seals painted on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Kakashi picked at the lunch left for him, less than happy about the bland food. Still, it was better than the emergency rations they were eating in his Konoha. He sighed, pushed the tray away and looked down at Naruto slowly taking over the pillows next to him.

“Sensei has grown fond of Naruto, hasn’t he,” Kakashi said, thinking back to the hug and smile. “It’s not surprising, really.”

Jiraiya looked up at Kakashi then down to Naruto. “Yes, they’ve grown fond of one another, very fond. The bond between parent and child is a difficult one to break.” There was a long moment of silence before Jiraiya spoke again. “We’re not going to give Naruto back.”

Kakashi shook his head, eye staring at the distant wall, narrowed in thought. “I don’t know how my Konoha will react to that. They’re not going to want to let the Kyūbi go.”

Jiraiya snorted in disgust. “Don’t want to lose their weapon, do they?”

The derision in the older man’s tone drew Kakashi’s eye around, a sudden need to defend his home compelled him to explain, even if he didn’t necessarily agree with them. “You don’t understand the situation we’re in,” he said in a rush. “Over half the Village has been destroyed. We have more dead than we can bury at the moment, many of them the younger and middle ranked shinobi…Even if we manage to push out the enemy forces before long, the Village is severely weakened. It’ll take years before we can even hope to regain something of the strength we had before…so many of the young were killed…”

Kakashi trailed off, rubbing a hand over his face. Jiraiya remained silent and let Kakashi regain control. When the younger man spoke again his voice was steady.

“They’re going to need every advantage they can get to keep our enemies and scavengers at bay and, as much as I hate to admit it, the Kyūbi is a powerful card.”

“Minato’s not going to give up his son,” Jiraiya said, voice hard, but without the accusatory tone.

“And we can’t afford to lose the Kyūbi…but we also can’t afford another war…” Kakashi slumped back into his bed. They were at an impasse and it was sapping what little energy of his energy he’d managed to regain.

Silence fell over the room as each man ruminated on the problem. Kakashi’s eyes drifted once again to Naruto’s blond head jammed halfway under a pillow, short limbs tossed akimbo in sleep. Part of Kakashi didn’t want to give up Naruto, either, with or without the Kyūbi. Naruto was all he had left of his family, such as it had been, of Team Minato.

Regret filled Kakashi with a sudden biting pain. It was too much like the pain from losing his Father and Obito, wishing he had done something differently, knowing he could and should have. He wished he’d taken the chance to know Naruto better instead of occasionally following the boy around in his ANBU mask. He should have shown Naruto that neither one of them had to be alone. Perhaps it would have given Naruto a reason to want to come back to their own Konoha.

But it was too late now. Naruto had no one to care for in their home world, except perhaps the Sandaime. Kakashi heaved a sigh, he was always figuring things out just a little too late.

“Perhaps we can both get what we want,” Jiraiya’s voice cut through the silence.

Kakashi forced himself out of his darkening thoughts. He refocused blinking up at the older man on the other side of Naruto. “What?”

“Do both,” Jiraiya glanced up at Kakashi and looked back down at Naruto. “You can take the Kyūbi and we’ll keep the little brat.”

Kakashi recoiled at the thought. He’d heard of what happened to the Jinchuricki that had their Bijū removed. His arm tightened over Naruto at the thought, but Jiraiya just smiled at his with a smug and cunning twist of the lips.

“That’s not what I’m thinking,” the older man said, arms crossing tenderly over his still injured chest. “I’m not talking about the Kyūbi itself, but about its chakra. How would your Konoha feel about becoming the proud owner of a whole bunch of latent Kyūbi chakra?”

Kakashi relaxed in a moment of relief as he realized Jiraiya wasn’t proposing to rip the Demon Fox out of Naruto. Then, as the rest of the idea took hold he could feel a smile curl up under his mask. That might just be the perfect solution.

Jiraiya looked back to Naruto, expression turning serious. “There is one catch, though. In order to collect all of that free floating chakra, we’re going to need some bait.”

* * *

“So let me get this straight,” Tsunade stood at the foot of Kakashi and Jiraiya’s beds, one hand fisted on her hip, head tilted to the side as her narrow gaze passed from one man to the other. “You want me to help you use Naruto as bait to catch the remaining portion of the Kyūbi’s chakra to give to the other Konoha as compensation for us keeping Naruto?”

“Yes,” Jiraiya said with considerably less reluctance than Kakashi felt on the whole matter. Kakashi glanced at Naruto, sound asleep and faintly snoring on a temporary mattress between their two beds. It was lucky the kid slept so soundly.

Tsunade glared at the old man then swung the accusatory look to Kakashi. “Were you going to inform Minato of this plan?”

“Minato’s got so much to take care of right now. We both thought it best not to worry him with trivial details.” Jiraiya waved a dismissive hand at the idea. “It’s better if he’s left to worry about the important things. Besides he’d be happy to know that we found a way to deal with the loose Kyūbi chakra hanging around.”

“Don’t try to con me, old man,” Tsunade said, crossing her arms, “You don’t want a very angry Hokage to beat you half to death.”

Jiraiya matched his colleague’s frown. “We need to give something to the other Konoha to make sure they don’t come after Naruto.”

“They wouldn’t be able to fight against us anyway, not with how weak they must be now,” Tsunade countered.

“Exactly,” Kakashi said, finally pitching into the exchange. “We’re going to be weak, extremely so. We’ll need something to defend ourselves with, or at least dissuade others from attacking us. You know how stupid people can get when they’re backed into a corner. They make desperate decisions. We can avoid that by giving them something to grab onto right away. Naruto’s…not liked by the village, by the council or the villagers, but the council knows the Kyūbi acts as a counterbalance for the other villages’ bijū. So we give them the Kyūbi, they’ll leave Naruto alone.”

Tsunade leaned in just far enough to avoid giving Jiraya a peep show, a movement practiced over years. She glanced at either man then down to the blond boy wrapped around his pillow in sleep. “Has Naruto agreed to this?”

“Not yet, but he will,” Kakashi said, a tired sigh accompanying the words. “He’ll want to do what he can to help. He’s always been that way.”

“Humph,” the medical-nin grunted. She eyed him with a narrowed gaze that made Kakashi feel half convicted for the village’s treatment of the boy, intended or not. Turning to Jiraiya, “Do you have a plan? A _real_ plan and not just a vague idea?”

The old man reared back in astonished offense. “Of _course_ I have a plan… mostly.”

The medic cocked an eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed.

“Tsunade,” Jiraiya’s voice dropped to that level tone of seriousness reserved only for a set of special topics. “What other choice is there? What kind of life will Naruto lead? He’ll be locked up behind protective seals, constantly wary of going outside? He can’t live that way.”

There was a long silence. Tsunade’s gaze drifted to Naruto’s sleeping form, expression softening a moment before she drew herself back up. “Fine,” she growled, “But we monitor his vitals at all times and we have a stop gap to counter the fox if it tries to take over.”

“Of course,” Jiraiya nodded.

They’d gotten the master medic to agree, but Kakashi still felt uneasy about the entire plan. Perhaps it was the memory of finding Naruto on that rooftop, corned and bleeding, a hair’s breadth away from being captured by the invading forces. Naruto had already been through so much, now to add facing the Kyūbi to it – if only there was a way for Naruto himself to help, perhaps he would feel more in control in his own situation.

“How does Naruto protect himself from the Kyūbi’s chakra normally?”

“What?”

Evidently, the conversation had moved on while Kakashi was musing. Both Sannin were blinking at him, Tsunade looming over an unrepentant Jiraiya.

“You said the seal on Naruto purposefully allows some of the Kyūbi’s chakra to leak through to the boy’s system,” Kakashi said, damning the slow recovery that seemed to have equally slowed his mind. “The fox’s chakra is very dangerous, how does Naruto withstand it normally? He must have a natural defense, some kind of resistance to the Kyūbi’s effects.”

Jiraiya and Tsunade turned thoughtful as Kakashi spoke. The medic spoke first, voicing her thoughts. “Families pass on similar chakra traits. Kushina was always curiously resistant to the Kyūbi, it’s why she was chosen to be the fox’s Container. It would stand to reason Naruto would inherent some of that resistance. Then add the fact that he’s been in contact with the Kyūbi his entire life in one form or another…”

“You want him to have some way to defend himself from the fox,” Jiraiya said.

Kakashi nodded, “He’s always been powerless about his situation. I think being able to do something will help.”

Jiraiya hummed to himself, nodding as he thought with one hand going to his chin. “There’s not much. Naruto’s too young and untrained to be able to do something really effective. What point was he at in his schooling?”

“Just molding chakra,” Kakashi said. He didn’t know Naruto’s actual ranking in the class, probably somewhere near the bottom, but he knew the class itself was still on molding chakra. “I don’t expect much, not at Naruto’s level, but if his chakra is naturally resistant to the Kyūbi’s effects, perhaps just molding as much chakra as he can will act as a buffer.”

“There’s no harm in trying.” Jiraiya shrugged even as Tsunade scoffed.

“Tch. We still don’t fully understand the balance and relationship between Naruto, his chakra, and the Kyūbi. If he recycles some of the Kyūbi’s chakra into his own regularly, he could end up attracting more of the latent chakra and only increase the danger of being overwhelmed.”

“But if we can catch the incoming chakra quick enough then that will only help us,” Jiraiya argued, “There’s just no way to know unless we try.”

Tsunade glowered, arms crossed under her ample chest. “You could make things worse.”

“Or we could fix them almost entirely,” Jiraiya countered. “Either way, we have to do something.”

“Why don’t we let Naruto decide?” Kakashi looked down to the blond shifting in his sleep.

They all glanced down at the eight year old. His mouth hung open pouring out soft snores with each breath. His clothes sat crooked, shifted sideways in his turning.

“We still need to prepare the sealing mechanism for the Kyūbi’s chakra,” Jiraiya said a flash of sentiment in his eye as he watched the boy sleep. “There’s no need to wake him till then and he’s going to need all the rest he can get before we try this.”

“Do you have any ideas for just how we’re going to capture and contain this chakra? An ordinary device won’t work on it.” Tsunade looked at her old teammate even as she silently began mulling over the problem herself.

“I was thinking we could modify your chakra retaining crystals,” Jiraiya said, fingering a spent one still hanging from his bed. “If we can combine it with the proper seals it could provide temporary storage at least. Then it’d be up to the other Konoha to figure out the rest.”

The medic nodded letting out a sigh. “I’ll pull out my research notes from when I first created the things. In the mean time, you two try to get some rest as well, we’re all going to need it.” Then, muttered under her breath as she left the room, “Heaven help us if Minato finds out.”

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	21. Once More Into the Breach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos everyone! Glad you're enjoying the story. I'm about to leave for a few weeks for a volunteer thing so I wanted to get one more chapter up before I go. Enjoy!

 

**Chapter 21: Once More into the Breach**

When Naruto woke, the room was dimmed and he’d been moved to his own cot set up between the two beds. The only light in the room came from a bedside lamp next to Kakashi. The white haired man was hunched over a book, so engrossed in his reading he failed to stir as Naruto climbed up on the bed next to him. Naruto squinted at the spine of the book. Ew, porn. He glanced at the bedside table, eye catching a stack of books, all from the same series. He vaguely wondered if the other Kakashi enjoyed smut as much as this one.

Naruto leaned over to peer at the text, wondering what was so interesting about the book that it had commandeered all of Kakashi’s attention.

The motion finally drew Kakashi’s notice. He snapped the book close before Naruto could get a look at any of the print. “Oh, Naruto, you’re awake.” Kakashi pulled open the drawer of the end table and dumped the book inside, quickly sweeping the rest of the collection in behind it.

Nodding, Naruto’s eyes lingered on the now closed drawer interest peaked a little. The things adults didn’t want kids to look at were usually more interesting…well sometimes. Sometimes the things adults kept hidden were just boring.

“Are you hungry? I could ask the nurse or guard to bring you some ramen,” Kakashi said, instantly pulling Naruto’s gaze away from the drawer and back to the white haired man.

“Ramen?” Naruto asked, eyes brightening, “Yeah! That’s my favorite!”

“I know,” Kakashi said with a chuckle. He eased himself out of bed, one leg at a time and shuffled to the door with the frailty of an old man. Opening the door, he murmured to one of the guards just visible in the hall. After a few nods, the door was shut and Kakashi made the slow journey back to the bed.

Naruto frowned at the slow progress, forehead wrinkling in concern and confusion. “Should you really be walking around? You don’t seem like you’re better yet.”

“Actually, I’m doing quite well considering. Usually I wouldn’t even be able to move this soon after chakra exhaustion. It’s only thanks to Tsunade that I can get out of bed.” Despite the reassurance, Kakashi let out a relieved gasp as he partially collapsed back on the bed and dragged his feet back under the covers.

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Naruto muttered. He didn’t intend for Kakashi to hear the comment, but the way the man ruffled his hair a moment later proved him wrong. “Hey,” he said, a thought suddenly occurring to him, “How did you know ramen was my favorite?”

Kakashi shifted, then shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest before dropping them to his lap again. “One of my duties before the invasion was to watch over you. You eat too much of the stuff, really you need more vegetables in your diet, but it’s been a rough time for both of us, we deserve a treat.”

“I don’t understand,” Naruto said as he eyed Kakashi, the other Kakashi. Well, he supposed this Kakashi was really his Kakashi since they both came from the same world, but he met the Kakashi from the new world first so that Kakashi felt more like his than this one.

Naruto shook his head. Dealing with two worlds was confusing enough without throwing in duplicates of people. It just seemed to get more and more complicated. It was easy to tell the two Kakashis apart. The one sitting in front of him looked so much older than the one from this world, more worn, too, like the white hair belonged to him. The difficult part was trying to separate them when talking about them.

“Why didn’t you talk to me before?” Naruto asked refocusing on his original question.

Kakashi sagged a moment, looking down at his hands. The hesitation grew out longer as Kakashi made a few false starts at speaking. He drew in a deep breath and pushed his way through the words. “Your father meant a lot to me. He was my sensei and all I had left besides the village. When he died…” Kakashi fell still, brow furrowed.

Naruto almost wished he hadn’t asked. He thought about telling the man he didn’t need to talk about it anymore, but a part of Naruto did need to know. It would have been so much less lonely in the village if he’d had just one other person to talk to, to be his friend.

“It was very difficult,” the silver haired man drew himself up around the words. “And you’ve always looked so much like him. It was…painful, to be reminded…”

The explanation didn’t make Naruto’s hurt at being so alone for so long go away, but it did make it more manageable when dealing with Kakashi.

“I’m sorry, Naruto,” Kakashi said, “If I could change how things were I would but as it is…”

“It’s alright,” Naruto said, plastering a smile on his face that was only partly forced, “I mean, things will be better now and you won’t have to miss dad anymore ‘cause he’s here.”

Kakashi frowned eyes shifting away from Naruto. The silence stretched, thin and brittle, and Naruto had the distinct impression he was missing something important…again. He was prevented, or perhaps saved, from asking by Jiraiya hobbling through the door, one arm slung around the shoulders of a very irate Tsunade.

“If you would just use the damn wheel chair this would have been much easier,” the Medical expert growled.

“I can’t been seen being pushed around in a wheelchair like some old and infirm geezer,” Jiraiya said, panting as they moved across the room.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. “People already know you’re old. You should be more concerned with healing yourself.”

“As if you’re one to talk,” Jiraiya scoffed as he eased down onto the bed.

“Care to repeat that?” Tsunade’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“…No. Why are you being so loud? I’m trying to rest,” Jiraiya rolled over or tried to but stopped when he twisted his torso too much. Instead, he settled for draping one arm across his eyes.

“Tch,” Tsunade turned away with a roll of her eyes. Her gaze fell onto Kakashi and Naruto sitting on Kakashi’s bed. “Awake, then? Did you explain to Naruto what we plan on doing?” she asked Kakashi. Naruto swiveled his head back and forth between the two, curiosity sparking bright.

“What?” Naruto asked, eager for something other than sitting in that room with nothing but the four walls and Kakashi’s porn to entertain himself. “What are we doing?”

“No,” Kakashi said, speaking over Naruto’s head and question. “I hadn’t gotten around to it.”

Tsunade flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Putting it off doesn’t make it any easier.”

Kakashi nodded and turned to Naruto.

“What is it?” Naruto asked again, getting up on his knees in his eagerness, fairly bouncing with renewed energy. “What? What? What?”

“Settle down,” Kakashi said, rolling his eyes and putting a hand on Naruto’s blond head. Naruto ceased his bouncing sitting back on his heels expectantly. “We have a plan that will let you go outside without having to worry about the Kyūbi.”

“Really?” Naruto bounced back up to his knees again, voice pitching loud as Jiraiya groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. “How? When can we do it? I’ll be able to go outside again? Could we go get ramen from Ichiraku’s?”

Kakashi held up his hands, glancing quickly toward the door. “Not so loud! This is something that has to remain between the four of us.”

Naruto’s smiled curled even wider with a touch of foxy mischief as he bit down on his lip. He was ready to die with boredom and this was even better than pranks to relieve it. “So it’s a _secret_ plan, like a mission?”

“Yes,” Kakashi nodded, “We’re going to trap the extra Kyūbi chakra floating around so it won’t affect you anymore.”

Naruto tilted his head, “How are we going to do that?” They couldn’t even _see_ the chakra, how were they going to _catch_ it?

Kakashi opened his mouth to answer, but clamped it shut when the door opened and Rin stepped through bearing several bowls of ramen on a tray. “The guards told me you wanted some ramen for dinner.” She stopped, noticing each head turned to her as the tension doubled. “Am I interrupting?”

“You might as well stay,” Tsunade said, crossing to the door and closing it with a reprimand to the guard not to be disturbed again. “I’ll feel better about the whole thing to have another medic handy any way.”

“Another medic handy for what?” Rin asked, setting down the tray on the nightstand and frowning at the rest of the room.

“We’re going to trap the Kyūbi!” Naruto said, fairly shouted in his eagerness to tell the secret.

“Keep it down!” Tsunade scolded, bopping Naruto on the head, “This is still a secret.”

Rin looked around the room with wide eyes. “You’re serious about this. Have you told Minato?” The silence that answered the question was enough. “You all have a death wish.”

“The Kyūbi’s chakra floating around outside is too much of a liability.” Jiraiya said, pushing himself to a sitting position with a stifle groan. Tsunade wedged another pillow behind him before he eased back again. “You saw what happened before, we can’t afford for that situation to occur again, especially with a large audience.”

Rin’s eyes, drifted down to Naruto for a moment then flashed away as she nodded her head. Naruto hunched into himself specifically trying to not think of the bodies left from the Kyūbi’s rage. “How are we gonna do it?” he asked again, desperate to change the subject.

“You see these chakra crystals?” Kakashi pointed up to dimly glowing crystals strung around his bed. Naruto nodded. “They’re designed to hold chakra. We’re going to make similar crystals that will be able to hold the Kyūbi’s chakra.”

Naruto nodded, expression serious as if Kakashi was consulting with Naruto what to do rather than explaining what they were going to do. “And you’re going to catch it! Then I’ll be able to go outside!” He beamed at the idea. Of course, they would think of a way to solve everything. With Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and now Rin there wouldn’t be any way they could fail. The only thing that could make it better would be if Minato joined their team. He glanced to the windows, brow furrowing. “How are you going to get it all in one place to catch?”

Kakashi smiled a moment, Naruto could see the flash of it under the mask. Then the smile disappeared and seriousness replaced it. “That’s where you come in, Naruto.”

Naruto cocked his head to one side. He didn’t understand how he could possibly help, but he wanted to do whatever he could. “What can I do?”

Kakashi wrapped an arm around Naruto, squeezing him in a half hug for a moment. “The Kyūbi chakra is attracted to you,” Kakashi said with only the barest hesitation. “If you were to stand outside, very still, the chakra would gather around you and we’d be able to collect it.”

An icy hand wrapped around Naruto’s heart and he pulled back away from Kakashi. His head swiveled back and forth at the others in the room, the only one who looked half as horrified as he felt was Rin.

“You can’t be serious!” Rin said through clenched teeth. “Think of the risk, to the village and Naruto! How could you even consider this? Using him as _bait_?”

“We won’t do it unless Naruto agrees,” Kakashi said, soft and sharp, eyes focused on Naruto. “But there’s no other way, not in the time we have.”

“But-“ Rin began only to be cut off by Tsunade.

“We’ve calculated the risk. If Naruto agrees, it’s the best that we have.” Silence fell as every eye turned to Naruto. “Well kid, what’s your decision?”

Naruto’s voice was completely gone. He wanted to say no, but the word stuck in his throat, jammed in a road block of curses and exclamations at the thought of going outside with that red haze just waiting for him. What if he lost control like last time? What if he hurt someone like those enemy shinobi, only this time it wouldn’t be enemies that got hurt it would be Kakashi, Rin, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, his friends and his dad’s friends. Minato would hate him if Naruto hurt them.

“What…what if I end up hurting you like I did those other guys?” Naruto finally managed to choke out. He couldn’t look at any of them, just kept his gaze hard on the bed, face scrunched up to prevent any tears from coming. This was a mission, his first mission and he couldn’t cry at the very beginning.

“You won’t hurt us, kid,” Kakashi said, landing a hand on top of Naruto’s head again. Kakashi forced Naruto’s head up, partly ducking to meet his eyes. “All four of us are harder to hurt than that. We’ll have safe guards in place and plenty of chakra seals on hand. Besides, you’re stronger than the Fox. You won’t let him hurt us.”

Eyes wide, Naruto thought back to what Minato had said. “I think you’re stronger,” that’s what Minato had said about Naruto and the Kyūbi and now Kakashi was saying the same thing. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Kakashi and Minato were two of the strongest, smartest ninjas Naruto had ever known. They wouldn’t be wrong about this, not with the village on the line.

Naruto glanced back to the window, imagining the swirl of red mist he’d seen in his dreams and the iron grip of it he’d felt the first time the Kyūbi had shown itself. Somewhere in the back of his mind that same itch sat, that thought that he was supposed to be somewhere else doing something. Maybe this was the thing he was supposed to be doing.

“Ok,” Naruto said with a nod and feeling more like a real ninja than he ever had before in his life, “I’ll do it.”

* * *

 Konan hung limp in her restraints, panting, heaving for air. She had long since stopped attempting to lift her head and now focused only on remaining conscious. Her interrogators had paused for a moment, conferring on the next stage in quiet voices somewhere across the room. The initial questioning stage had been short, a few demands for information that Konan responded to with silence before they moved on to more…rigorous forms of questioning. 

Flicking her eyes up to the soft murmurs on the other end of the room, Konan forced some of her concentration away from breathing and focused on the papers she’d imbued with her chakra. They were in the room, she could feel them close by even if she couldn’t focus enough to pinpoint their exact location. The pain flared in her wrists as she fought against the chakra restraints. She didn’t need to make any new chakra to spy through the paper she’d already infused so it should still be possible even in the restraints. It was simply extremely painful as her body strained to create the chakra out of habit and the restraints forced the power away. Eyes growing unfocused in the effort, she managed to catch just a portion of the conversation relayed through the papers like a radio.

“-not working, we can’t go back to the Hokage without any answers!”

“Forget Hokage-sama, I don’t want to go to Ibiki and tell him we didn’t get anything. He might decide we need to relearn the basics of interrogation all over again. Any word yet on when Inoichi will be healed enough to come in and try his jutsu?”

“Last I heard was probably tomorrow maybe the day after. This is our final chance to get anything from her before we lose her.”

“Perhaps if we-“

The conversation faded as Konan’s concentration stuttered. She doubted she would be able to withstand a direct attack to her mind as was Inoichi’s specialty. She’d have enough reserves to protect some of her information, but the chances were they would eventually get something from her, willingly or not. It would entirely depend on what tactic they used to work their way into her memories.

It really boiled down to two choices: Konan would need to escape before then, or render herself incapable of betraying Nagato. She would not betray the trust of her only remaining friend and family. Konan wracked her brain, thinking of any possible way to tip the scales in her favor. The biggest problem was her inability to use jutsu, her lack of chakra. That had to be the first thing she remedied.

“Day dreaming?” the voice of her interrogator drew Konan from her thoughts. “Unless you answer our questions truthfully, that’s going to be the only way you get out of here, understand? Now, where were we?”

Clenching her jaw, Konan braced herself.

* * *

“This isn’t good enough.” Minato said with a shake of his head as he looked up from the report just delivered to him. “I want the medical facilities double stocked with as much supplies as possible in the short notice. Move the civilian and walking wounded from the attack to the farthest reaching facilities away from the Hokage tower.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” the chūnin said then placed one final folder on the desk. “The recent information we have from the autopsy division.”

“Thank you,” Minato said and dismissed the chūnin with a wave of his hand. The young shinobi departed with a bow.

Shikaku stepped forward to fill the space in front of Minato’s desk when the door to Minato’s office closed and they were alone. His eye roved over the seal diagrams scattered across the surface with a marked lack of reaction. “So you’re going to do this?”

“Yes,” Minato said, not bothering to look up from the diagrams after he dropped the medical status report to the floor and set the autopsy report to the side on the desk. “It’s the best course of action we can take.”

“We could just destroy the mirror,” Shikaku said, shrugging away the issue. “If they did discover how to rebuild it, it would potentially take years, and we would be more than ready for them. You’ll be able to keep your son, and the village won’t have to worry about an attack.”

Minato shifted, looking up from his seal work. “There are other matters playing into the decision.”

“May I ask what they are?”

Minato sat back, letting the brush he was using to sketch out seal designs and formula fall to the table. For a moment, he simply looked at Shikaku and considered how open he should be. The man was loyal and trustworthy, on that Minato would stake his life, but the situation was delicate.

“The boy’s a jinchūriki, isn’t he?” Shikaku said when Minato didn’t speak. “That’s why you’re concerned the other Konoha will come looking for him. Those burns on your arms, the injuries on the enemy soldiers that tried to take him…Naruto’s the Kyūbi jinchūriki.”

“I should know better by now than to underestimate you analytical skills,” Minato chuckled, the stress of the situation coming up in the moment. “Yes, he is the Kyūbi’s container. It’s the reason he was targeted.” Minato hesitated only a moment before continuing. “The Kakashi from the other Konoha also came through the mirror during the attack. I cannot cut him off from his village without his permission and knowing Kakashi, I don’t think he would give up on his village easily.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Shikaku agreed and pursed his lips. “How do you want to defend the village during the counter attack? When you open that portal we’ll be as vulnerable to attack as they will be.”

Minato’s mouth twitched in a smile before flattening out again. He could always count on Shikaku. “You’re going to be in charge of defense while I’m gone. I’ll be taking our Kakashi, Itachi, and several ANBU with me when I go into the other world.” Minato shuffled the scrolls and papers around on his desk till he found his map of the city. “I want you to set up concentric barriers moving out from the Hokage Tower. Have reaction forces standing by in case the barriers are broken. We’ll want to contain whatever fallout we can in the smallest section of the village as possible. I’ll be going through the mirror after dark when everything’s shut down for the night so that should reduce the vast majority of civilians in the area. Keep others from wandering into the area as well.”

Shikaku nodded, looking over the layered defense Minato had sketched out on the map. “We should strength the side of the barrier that borders the residential and civilian sectors.”

“Very well, if you see any improvements make them. I want to move as soon as possible. If anyone asks, this is a training exercise. If everything goes well, there will be no spill over and the general population will be none the wiser.” Minato handed the map over to the ANBU leader and turned back to his seal diagrams. He was close to the right formula, he could feel it.

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Shikaku bowed, recognizing the dismissal. “I’ll send over the best ANBU agents I have for you invasion force after back briefing them.” He turned to leave but paused before stepping away from the desk. Turning to peer over his shoulder he broke protocol, harkening back to when they were both Jounin. “Be careful, Minato-san. I know what it’s like to be a father and want to do everything to protect your child, but you’re also the Hokage and your first duty must be to the village.”

Minato stopped his writing and squeezed his eyes shut before looking up to face Shikaku. “Thank you, but I’m very well aware of my duty to the village and that includes that future generations that will inherit it. My son is a part of that future. What kind of village would we be, what would we teach him if we sacrificed him and the Kakashi from his own world simply because it was easier and safer? This is the right thing to do.”

The hint of a smile tugged at Shikaku’s mouth before it fell back to his normal bored expression. He nodded and turned, disappearing through the door and leaving Minato to his seals.

* * *

“You’ll like it here,” Naruto rambled to the side, making a good if unconscious effort to distract Kakashi from the scroll he was studying. “It’s just like the old village but better and we’ll be able to spend time together and you can teach me Jutsu and learn from dad again and you’ll be able to be twins with the other Kakashi. It’s going to be great!”

“Naruto, you’re supposed to be molding chakra to prepare for fighting the Kyūbi,” Kakashi reminded the boy. He glanced up at the door, hoping Tsunade would come back soon. They had a test chakra crystal they thought could hold the Kyūbi’s power, but it would be difficult to test in earnest until they got out with an actual concentration to contain.

Naruto grumbled a few choice words under his breath before fading silent as he closed his eyes. The silence helped Kakashi focus on the readings they had from the new crystal but more importantly it helped him ignore the one thing they hadn’t yet told Naruto, namely that Kakashi himself would not be staying in this world if all went well. The thought of staying was both tempting and painful and Kakashi was tired of hearing Naruto babble on about the subject.

The silence lasted for several minutes before Tsunade came in through the door, a whirl of blonde pony tails and green jacket. Rin followed closely behind carrying a bundle of cloth. Kakashi focused his gaze on Tsunade, trying his best to accept the ghost from his past.

“We have it,” Tsunade said, gesturing to Rin to put the bundle down on the bed. Shaking Jiraiya awake, Tsunade continued. “It’s not perfect but it will do so long as we have enough of them and are careful to keep the chakra flow steady.”

Rin pulled back the cloth revealing several heavy, pale yellow crystals. Kakashi picked one up testing the weight in his hand. From the other bed he could hear Jiraiya sputtering about being woken from actual sleep but he ignored the bickering between the two Sannin. If Tsunade and Rin were right, these crystals could save both Naruto and his Konoha. Unable to resist, he scraped together some of the little chakra he’d managed to gather with help of Tsunade’s treatment and gave a gentle push toward the crystal in his hand. The reaction was immediate as the crystal latched onto the chakra and absorbed it as surely as a rock to the bottom of a pool. The small effort left him dizzy and slightly nauseous.

“What are you doing?!” Rin cried, snatching the crystal back. “These are designed to absurd an extremely large quantity of high density chakra. It could suck you dry if you give it the chance.”

“Being in a warzone has made you reckless,” Tsunade said as she abandoned her argument with Jiraiya and turned to Kakashi’s bed. “I can appreciate your need to see for yourself if they’ll work, but try and set a good example for the children. There’s no need to give either Naruto or Jiraiya any bad ideas.”

Naruto didn’t seem to heed the mention of his name, instead reaching out to touch one of the crystals himself only to have Rin pull them away from his grasp. “So those things are going to trap the Kyūbi?”

“They’re going to trap the Kyūbi’s chakra,” Tsunade corrected. “The chakra outside doesn’t quite have a complete consciousness yet, that’s why it’s drawn to you.”

“What do we do with it then?” Naruto asked as he settled down on the edge of the bed.

Tsunade shrugged, holding one of the crystals to the light to inspect its flawless interior. “Then Kakashi will take it back to his own world when he goes home.”

Kakashi flinched. He hadn’t meant to tell Naruto that until absolutely necessary. Glancing over he found Naruto’s astonished gaze pinned on him. “It’s the only way,” he said in an attempt to head off any arguments. “The village is going to need every shinobi they can get to win the war and then afterwards to avoid another invasion. I can’t just abandon them.”

Naruto shook his head with fierce denial. “Why can’t Kakashi-jiji stay here, too?” Naruto asked, looking at Jiraiya and completely ignoring Kakashi himself.

“I’m not _old_ ,” Kakashi said, nose scrunching up underneath his mask. “I’m the same age as the Kakashi in this world. There’s no reason to call me ‘jiji’. I’m not old at all!”

“Eh,” Jiraiya said, squinting at Kakashi’s face and hair. “You do have gray hair like an old man.”

“I had this same hair color when I was eight.” Kakashi’s one visible eye couldn’t decide whether it was confused, exasperated, or annoyed.

“Yes, but now you have the wrinkles to match it, old man,” Jiraiya said, delight lighting up his tone, “older than me, even!”

“You do look worn,” Rin said in a subdued voice where she stood to the side adding in a lowered voice, “Didn’t help that you wasted some of your chakra testing the crystal.”

Kakashi shook his head, renewing some of the dizziness but it passed a moment after he stopped. “Listen Naruto,” he said pulling the blond down in front of him. He cast about for a moment, trying to find some way to explain it to the eight year old. It’d been so long since he had related to someone Naruto’s age he wasn’t sure if he could anymore, if he’d ever been able to even when he was Naruto’s age. He’d deliberately avoided taking students by going into the ANBU and now he floundered. He promised himself when he got back to his own world and the war was won he’d cut back on the ANBU mission and take some students, make some attempt to rejoin the world.

“We all have to give up something,” Kakashi began more for something to say than anything else as he focused on that blue gaze peering up at him. “For me, that’s going to be the chance to be here with you, Rin, and Minato. For you…that’s going to be the chance to see the Sandaime again, but we’re ninja. We never stop trying and we endure what we must to make sure everyone we care about is safe. Do you understand?”

For a moment, Kakashi thought his words had made no impact. Naruto’s eyes dropped down and away and his brow furrowed for a long, silent moment. Then he nodded. “Yeah, I understand.”

“Good.” Tsunade said. “Get back to molding chakra then. Someone will be in to replace your chakra crystals in a little bit. Minato’s going to finish his preparations in another day or two. We’re going to need more than this if we’re going to try this when he launches his offensive through the mirror. Rin and I have to get back to making more of these, a lot more if we even hope to succeed.”

* * *

Minato glanced to the two others on either side of him. Itachi and Kakashi stood with generic ANBU masks already in place and facing the mirror as they wait for Minato to open the portal. Then, he flicked his gaze to the four ANBU standing behind them. Seeing their Hokage’s glance each nodded signaling that they were ready. Minato looked back to the mirror, pulling his own mask down over his face.

The mirror looked worse for the wear after everything it had gone through. The cracks had splintered out distorting the once glass smooth surface and fracturing the reflections of the room around it. A few of the cracks had worsened when Minato ran through his own tests after finding the foreign chakra present in the object, but some of the smaller cracks had receded, almost disappeared from the slow and constant input of chakra into the crystal. Minato had also lined the outer edges with seals to help hold the crystal together when he reopened the doorway and during the inevitable battle that would follow.

Two ANBU skilled in seals and chakra control stood behind the invasion force. Hopefully, the two would be able to maintain the integrity of the mirror during the battle. The possibility of something happening to the one and only connection to their own world in the soon-to-be battle weighed heavy in Minato’s calculations. The risk, piled on with every other logical argument, was almost enough to make Mintao destroy the mirror as he had been tempted to do since the beginning of the whole affair. It was worth the risk, though, to be sure that Naruto wouldn’t have to worry about some mad man finding a way into their world as well as helping that other Konoha and giving Kakashi the chance to go home if he chose.

Minato also couldn’t help but put himself in the Sandaime’s shoes, fighting a possibly losing battle for the village with no end or aide in sight. If Minato was in the same position, he’d hope the Sandaime would find it in his heart to at least attempt some kind of help. If all went according to plan, Kakashi and Itachi would distract Nagato while Minato destroyed any information concerning the mirror with two of the ANBU. The remaining two ANBU would guard their escape route. Depending on the state of the Tower in the other world it could just be easier to destroy the entire building and bury any information of the mirror along with whatever Ame forces were there, but Minato would make that determination when he saw the place.

None of their party had any delusion that they would simply find all the material on the mirror located in one easily destroyed location. Even if they did find it all, they would have to be concerned with anyone who had seen and remembered the information. Still, one of the easiest ways to limit the danger of the mirror was limit the people who had knowledge and understanding of it. The primary mission was damage control for the mirror as well as stopping Nagato from ever returning or sending anyone else to their world, and they would do whatever it took to accomplish those tasks.

Glaring at the mirror, Minato gave one last reminder for the shinobi going with him. “Remember, from what we’ve learned each version of Pain has a different ability. We don’t know how many there are but they will likely have red hair and piercings. At least one remaining on the other side has the ability to push and pull objects toward or away from himself with extremely short recovery time between each attack. The latest autopsy results indicated the piercings had the ability to receive chakra. We still don’t know the exact purpose for them but it may be an avenue to counteract their abilities. Be careful and stay at least in pairs at all times.”

A round of “Hai, Hokage-sama,” answered his instructions.

Taking one last even breath in, Minato ripped off the seal preventing the mirror from opening and flashed through the signs. The Mirror sputtered, blinking a bright powerful flash before the light rushed across its surface and a fractured image of a different world appeared. Nagato knelt before the Mirror on the other side, eyes a widened from surprise as Minato pushed his arm through the glass making cracks appear at the strain and threw several of his specialized kunai into the room.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if this was a kindness or not. It does leave off on more of a cliff-hanger than the other chapter did, but it's done. I post these stories to improve my own writing so please leave any constructive criticism, comments, or anything else you want to say. I love feedback! Thanks for reading!


	22. Failed Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from my travels! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter!
> 
> See end notes for additional warnings.

 

**Chapter 22: Failed Plans**

Konan gasped as the restraints holding her to the wall released. She didn’t know how long they had kept questioning her after the overheard conversation. It felt like days, but probably fell short of that. Maybe another ten or twelve hours?

For a moment, there was the sweet sensation of chakra, the limited amount she had, coursing through her veins. It was short lived, though, as another set of manacles clamped around her wrists and cut off the sensation. Her exhaustion and the pain from increasingly aggressive questioning methods dulled her reactions and there was not time to infuse any other papers with her chakra. She would have to make due with the five papers from before she had in her control. Desperately, Konan cast out looking for them. If they weren’t close by they would be no use to her, but there, in the corner, she could feel the faint echo of her own charka beyond the numbness caused by the restraints.

Head hung down, guards gripping her arms on either side, Konan knew her options and opportunities for escape were dwindling fast. The next time they brought her out for questing they’d be prying directly into her mind, attacking and pulling apart her memories. The chances of her resisting or escaping after that would only diminish. She had to do something now, otherwise even if the opportunity came she would not be in any condition to seize it.

The small group turned another corner. In a few minutes, they would be at her isolated cell. Initially, the isolation was probably meant to help keep her imprisoned as well as maintain the secrecy of her presence, but now Konan could use it to her advantage. There were two guards on either side of her and one of the interrogators escorting them to open the cell doors. They believed her too weak to cause any trouble and as a result had cut back the number of guards escorting her.

Konan had been through this before, though, interrogations like this and worse. There was a reason Nagato was able to start a civil war so easily after Yahiko’s death. Hanzo had become a cruel and vicious tyrant by the end of his regime and his henchmen did merciless and unspeakable things to their enemies, women and children included. She could take the pain and the exhaustion, she could push past it.

Closing her eyes and sagging into the guards’ arms she cast out for any sign of her papers. The interrogator had three of her chakra infused papers with him. Three papers. Three guards. Paper folded tight enough and with the added strength of her chakra could puncture skin. Normally, she was very picky in her choice of paper to increase the strength and durability, but it would have to be enough for the moment.

The two holding her arms staggered under her sudden dead weight and had to shift their hold to continue dragging Konan down the hall. One grumbled a few curses as they paused outside her cell door and waited for the interrogator to unlock it.

“I think she’s passed out on us. Hurry up with that door, she’s heavier than she looks!” the guard who’d cursed snapped at the interrogator.

The interrogator grumbled a reply, fiddling with both hands to find the key and spilling his paperwork all over the floor. He looked down, momentarily distracted by the forms and notes fanned out around him and Konan took her chance. She lurched to the side throwing the guards off center. Then bringing her fist up, she smashed it into one guard’s face before quickly reversing directing and sending the fist into the other guard’s gut.

“What?!” The interrogator exclaimed, dropping his keys before he launched himself to restrain her.

Konan dodged back, pushed away from the two guards only to run into the wall. She dropped her feet out from under her and rolled to the other side of the corridor before diving toward the keys. With part of her attention focused on her paper, she wouldn’t be able to keep up her evasion for long. There was only time to remove one of the cuffs before the interrogator was lunging at her again, hands forming seals as he took in a breath of air. The other two guards climbed to their feet and moved to block any escape back down the hall.

The chakra restraint on her remaining wrist burned as Konan pulled the sheets out from the scattered papers and directed their form into tight spiraled points. She shot the paper spikes toward the guards as a ball of fire exploded from the interrogator’s mouth. The man sputtered and coughed as the spike drove through his throat, hands clawing at the injury. The fire ball shriveled and died but not before it expanded out to fill Konan’s dead-end section of the hall. She dropped to the side and flattened herself to the floor. It was all she could manage without anymore molded chakra to protect or maneuver herself. The fire rolled overhead, burned and singed her clothes, exposed skin, and hair before if fizzled into nothing.

When Konan looked up, panting with the exertion and pain, the three guards were on the ground. The interrogator was dead, his body still with a growing pool of blood for the wound through his neck. She had put more effort into accuracy for him partly due to the immediate threat he presented and partly due to the harsh interrogation she’d been subjected to at his direction. Both of the guards were not dead, but one was rapidly losing consciousness while the remaining was struggling to regain his feet, fury and pain etched into his face. He attempted a yell for help, but the cry only resulted in a gargle as blood welled up from his neck and saturated the paper.

Konan unlocked the remaining cuff and dropped it to the ground. Dragging herself to her feet was more difficult than she expected. She had precious little chakra and those three darts had cost her, but even with aches, pain, burns, and chakra depletion she was still better off than the guard. His life blood was spreading down his front and across the floor. She hadn’t severed the artery like she’d hoped but she’d nicked it, at least. Steps slow and dragging, Konan made her way to the remaining man. He struggled to get up, fumbling at a kunai to strike back at her. Konan merely stepped out of range, then twitched her fingers to pull the paper dart lose.

The steady stream of blood turned into a river and in a moment the guard was gasping. Another moment passed and the guard lay still. Dead or unconscious, it made no difference to Konan, so long as the man was no longer a threat and couldn’t raise the alarm. She paused and sagged toward the wall, letting her breathing even out from the exertions of not just the fight but of however long she’d been interrogated this session. The adrenaline was ebbing back from her system leaving her tired and hurting beyond measure. She had to move soon, though.

Getting past the three escorting her was only the first step in her escape. Now, she needed to get out of the building, into the Hokage Tower, and back into her own world. Taken all together, the task seemed insurmountable, but she’d seen greater impossibilities preformed by her two friends over the course of their life. It was just a matter of surviving one step at a time.

With the three guards unmoving on the ground, Konan knelt down next to the closest, a slow, painful motion that left her in doubt of being able to regain her feet, and went through their pockets. The interrogator didn’t have much besides a small kunai and some note papers but any form of paper could be useful to her. The other guards had an assortment of kunai and explosive tags as well as a blank scroll with sealing ink from one. She gathered the looted equipment as well as a hip pack to store it, then dragged the guards and locked them in the cell.

 When finished and after checking the hallway again, Konan took an extra moment to bind the worst of her injuries. There was no telling when the guards would be expected back, she needed to move and leave the building as quickly as possible. The next corridor over was equally deserted and the several beyond had a low number of guards. Konan fought down the urge to run, tempting though it was. Her injuries and situation required caution, patience, and stealth, but she had spent most of her life honing those exact traits. You didn’t survive as a rebel group during the reign of Hanzo without them. She would make it out of the building, of that she had no doubt. The question of what to do when she did get away would be a little more difficult to solve.

* * *

_We’re lucky the night’s so dark_ , Kakashi thought to himself. It covered their movement to the high level training grounds. It also helped that the defenses set up for Minato’s attack were focused on the Hokage Tower. Shikaku’s seals and troops were geared toward stopping violent attacks and infiltration from the enemy resulting from Minato’s counteroffensive, not toward detecting their own people moving slowly about the city.

Looking over his shoulder as Rin pushed him along in his wheel chair, Kakashi spotted Jiraiya moving in his own chair with the help of Tsunade. Jiraiya initially objected to using the two wheel chairs, but common sense and Tsunade had won out in the end. The quicker they could move and the less they wore themselves out the better. Naruto hovered between them, glancing back and forth between the two pairs. The boy was almost completely covered in chakra suppression seals. He crinkled with every step he took and even in the deep shadows he seemed to reflect the smallest amount of light off the white paper. The seals were just a stop gap till they could get to the training grounds and set the trap.

After some debate they decided the high level training grounds would be the ideal location for luring in the Kyūbi. The area was large and isolated without being outside of the village wall and defenses. There were permanent seals put in place to prevent chakra spillage going into the village and the ground was regularly being chewed and turned up thanks to the constant practice of high level jutsu. If they were lucky, very lucky, they would be able to trap the Kyūbi with no one being the wiser, any disturbances being attributed to some late night training.

Kakashi estimated they had another ten or fifteen minutes before the Hokage open the mirror and began his attack against Pain. Then another twenty or thirty minutes before anyone noticed they weren’t at the hospital. That was the next time the nurse was scheduled to make her rounds, before that Tsunade had put the fear of God into the guards not to disturb the resting patients. They would hopefully be set up by that time and already attracting the Kyūbi’s chakra.

There was some debate how much of a help Kakashi and Jiraiya would be in the endeavor, but both refused to be left behind. Kakashi flexed one hand, testing his strength. The chakra crystals did wonders but he was still far from recovered, any help he could give would be limited. He could do small things, though, draw out the seals, monitor the chakra, or plaster Naruto in suppressors if things got out of control. Jiraiya was at least better able to mold and control chakra. The old Sannin would be able to control some of the chakra flow into the crystals, at least in theory if any of this worked.

Their progress was slower than Kakashi liked and from Tsunade’s soft cursing behind him, he knew he wasn’t the only one. However, if they wanted to do this as safely as possible, they needed the distance from the main village to act as a buffer for any spillover of the Kyūbi’s chakra. The one benefit of their slow speed was when they finally made it to the training grounds it was too late for anyone to be present. It was a minor blessing, but Kakashi had learned to take anything he could get.

Setting up the crystals by comparison was a much quicker process, even if the work itself was more delicate. Jiraiya and Tsunade directed the work instructing Kakashi and Rin as they set up the trap for the Kyūbi. Jiraiya drew out the seal they needed with a thick paint brush and large can of chakra infused ink. His progress was as slow as their pace getting to the field and he winced every time he needed to shift and move, tight groans hastily quieted with each adjustment. Tsunade handed out the chakra crystals and with Kakashi and Rin planted them in the ground at regular, specific intervals around the seal. Naruto sat in the center of it all, scratching at the edges of the chakra suppressing seals and as he watched their progress.

As they set the final crystals in place, Kakashi glanced up at the stars, much brighter here past the edge of the town. “Minato-sensei and the others should have started the counterattack by now. If everything went according to plan they should be in the other world.”

Tsunade nodded moving around to the outer side of the seal. “We should get this started. It will take time to attract all of the latent chakra. Kakashi, start removing the suppressants on Naruto while we activate the seal.”

Kakashi nodded moving to Naruto. “Don’t worry,” he said eyeing Naruto’s twitching hands and wide eyes. “There’s four of us to take care of it if something goes wrong. The crystals should absorb the chakra before it even gets to you.”

Naruto just nodded, attempting his thousand watt smile but only managing a nervous few hundred watts. “Ow!” he exclaimed as Kakashi pulled off a chakra suppressant from Naruto’s head. “That hurt!”

“Well, these are not meant to fall off easy,” Kakashi grinned at the glaring eight year old in front of him. He patted Naruto on the head, eyes giving away the smile beneath his mask. “It could be worse.”

Outside of the seal, Tsunade, Rin, and Jiraiya had positioned themselves around the seal and as one ran through the signs to activate the crystals. Kakashi pulled off the last sticker just before they finished and turned to watch. Looking through his normal eye, everything seemed normal. The night was dark and cool with just a touch of breeze ruffling the grass.

Kakashi hesitated, knowing Tsunade and Rin would disapprove. He wasn’t even sure if he could handle it, considering his condition, but he was much more recovered than he’d ever hoped to be so soon after his injuries. He could take one quick look to check if it was working. Stepping around to Naruto’s side, as much to be ready with chakra suppressors as to hide the movement of his hand, Kakashi reached up and pushed his head band out of the way exposing his sharingan. With a deep breath, he directed his gaze to the area around them, looking for any sign that their plan was working. He forced down the gasp that tried to escape. The chakra suppressants hadn’t been off for more than a moment or two and already the field was growing thick with red Kyūbi chakra.

Kakashi didn’t say anything, not wanting to further worry Naruto who was already clutching onto Kakashi’s pant leg, but for the first time since discussing this plan, Kakashi wondered if they hadn’t bitten off more than they could chew.

* * *

Minato’s kunai never made it far, Pain deflected them almost immediately and they clattered against the walls. Minato could feel the pressure of Pain’s push, trying to force him back through the mirror, but he flashed to one of his kunai already in the room, throwing another two kunai before he fully materialized. The second attack came too quickly after the first and Pain was forced to dodge away, allowing Kakashi to slip through the mirror.

Pain altered his tactics, pulling Kakashi forward preparing to run him through with a long metal rod. Minato shot forward colliding with Kakashi and moving them both to another kunai somewhere else in the room. Landing, both of them sent a series of kunai toward Pain. The timing was off for most of them though and Pain managed to send the kunai shooting back toward Kakashi and Minato.

Itachi reached through the mirror, but ran into the latest push from Pain which stalled his momentum. Minato flashed to the mirror, grabbed Itachi’s arm, and took them both to a kunai located deeper in the room. His kunai were scattered around the edges on the room now, growing in number with each attack.

“We need to get Aburame through next,” Minato murmured before flashing both of them behind some rubble as Pain pulled them toward him.

Across the room, Kakashi threw a chain around one large piece of wall to keep him from being pulled toward Pain. He used the pulling force to send a kunai at Pain only to have it dodged. Having the mirror in the room and in such a fragile state was turning out to be an advantage. Pain was limited in how powerful he could use his technique for fear of destroying the mirror entirely. Even the reduced force Pain placed in his attacks caused new cracks to form on the edges of the black chakra glass.

“Take care of the Ame reinforcements coming up the corridor,” Minato jerked his head toward the jagged remains of the door.

Itachi nodded, waiting for Minato to send off another attack toward Pain before dodging around behind rubble and out the door. Beyond the mirror, Minato could see the next member in their invasion force coming through the glass. Pain’s push forced them back.

Minato kicked several pebbles out from his sheltered position behind the rubble. They moved back away from Pain as if swept up in a wave. The moment they slowed Minato threw out a kunai flashing to it in the instant between Pain’s attacks. Materializing in close quarters with Pain, he dodged and grabbed the metal rod meant for his heart. He gasped, the strength of the chakra coming through the rod caught him by surprise and his own rasengan missed a direct hit. Instead, it clipped Pain in the shoulder but forced the man back a step.

An explosion rocked the outer hall, causing dust to cascade down in the room. A large crack split across the ceiling. It spread in fits and spurts like slow moving lightning and, for a moment, all occupants of the room seemed to hold their breath as it advanced. The room sat for an instant in unsteady silence before Minato made one last swipe with his kunai and Pain pulled him toward a metal rod.

Minato flashed to where Kakashi and Aburame hid behind a section of ceiling that had fallen. The encounter had been brief but enough of a distraction to get the next member of their party through. _None of us can fight to full power in this room_ , Minato thought glancing up at the fractured ceiling, _not if we don’t want this place to come down on top of us_. It only worked to their advantage.

“Kakashi,” Minato said, keeping an eye on Pain with the reflection of a kunai. Pain was still positioned by the Mirror, focusing chakra on keeping the object together though his head turned toward where they sat behind their cover, mouth twisted in faint frustration. For the time being, the passageway between the two worlds was far too important for both of them. Pain wouldn’t abandon his efforts at keeping the mirror together unless given no other choice. “Keep him busy here while Aburame and I go search. The room and the Mirror are both fragile, he won’t risk using his full power and destroying it so speed is your best weapon. Try and get the others through if you can.”

“Hai,” Kakashi nodded then summed Pakkun, his tracker ninken. “Pakkun, help them search,” he ordered, leaving the details to Minato. Using his own hand mirror to check Pain’s position, Kakashi sent out a clone while firing off a series of kunai in the same moment.

Minato grabbed Aburame and the dog and flashed them both as close to the door as he could manage. Pain Pulled, grabbing at them and Minato just managed to embed a chain in the door giving them something to hold onto. The pull wasn’t as strong as Minato knew Pain could accomplish, but it was relentless and the fight reduced to tug-of-war as Pain attempted to draw them away from the door and Minato and Aburame held their ground. Minato glanced back in time to see Kakashi leap out from his anchor point and use the pull to attack Pain directly. The force stopped with the renewed clashing of metal on metal and Minato used the opening to put a kunai outside of the room and flash himself, Aburame, and Pakkun away.

* * *

Shizune increased the magnification on the microscope, eyes squinting to make out the faintest change in muscle tissue that could have come from chakra manipulation. The lab was quiet and at half light, many of the other medics had left to catch some well deserved sleep. They had hurried to get through the bulk of the autopsy in time for the Hokage’s planned offensive into the other world, but the minor nuances that usually came out in delicate examinations had to be set aside for after. They’d already delivered the information they had on the chakra receivers and their likely purpose. The results were extremely preliminary, but better than nothing and all they had time for before the counterattack.

Glancing at the clock, Shizune took note of the time. If everything had gone according to plan the Hokage and the strike force had already begun their attack. It would be difficult to get any new information to them in the midst of the battle, particularly against one as dangerous as Pain.  Still, even with the Hokage currently occupied, the conclusion needed to be verified, and every piece of information was potentially useful.

Straightening from her hunched position, Shizune arched her back to a series of cracks down her spine. She made a few notations on the paper next to her, describing her observations and possible causes. They had never studied the effect of using a dead body that had already been influenced by chakra use to perform ninjutsu. The result seemed to be a layering effect on the tissue and was complicating her attempts to understand the chakra paths. If she could understand it better then perhaps there could be a way to interfere with the secondary chakra paths created by the conductors implanted after death.

Shizune paused, half bent to the microscope. There was a sound, one of moving fabric, from somewhere in the lab. Without the others catching a much need break and the silence that had been her companion for the last half hour, she might have missed it the noise was so faint, but she was sure she heard it. Sitting still with only her eyes sweeping the lap, she focused her senses on hearing the noise again.

There! There was movement by the exam table. The sheet covering their specimen swayed though there was no breeze in the room. A thought occurred to Shizune, coming to her from her earlier reflection on the Hokage’s counter attack already underway. Her eyes darted to the pile of chakra receivers sitting on the exam table. They’d only removed the majority of chakra receptors from two of the bodies and with the gateway open once again…

Shizune snatched up a dissection scalpel sitting close to her on the desk, bring it up to help block an attack from one of the previously inert corpses. One of Pain’s bodies had clambering to its feet. One arm hung loose where Shizune and her team had removed the chakra receivers. Another one of the bodies, the one that could summon creatures, twitched on its own examination table, but too many of its charka transmitters he been removed to become a threat.

Jumping away from the redheaded corpse, Shizune spared a moment of relief that they had completely removed the chakra receivers from the final corpse. Now they only really had to handle one of Pain’s bodies. She dodged another lunge from Pain quickly reviewing what had been reported about this particular body. According to the Hokage and the others who had fought this version, its particular ability involved absorbing chakra attacks. Using her own poisoned darts she kept with her at all times would also be useless since the body itself was dead, merely manipulated by the chakra from the original Pain. That left her taijutsu.

Shizune shifted her stance, moving her front leg back to gain distance as well and prepare for any defense she might need. With one of the invaders reanimated her priority had to be alerting the village and keeping the body here where it could be contained. Alone, she doubted she could defeat the body, but if she could sound the alarm then with the reinforcements, they could regain the situation.

Taking her eyes off the intruder would be unwise, so Shizune thought back to what lay behind her in the lab. Naturally, there were tables, chairs, workstations, but she’d probably only get one chance for cover once the tense standoff between them broke and she wasn’t going to miss it. The distance and the nature of the object she took for cover were vital. If she could buy herself just a few seconds she could set off the wards and alert reinforcements that something was amiss.

A long moment stretched out before either one in the lab moved. It was one of those invisible signals that pushed both Shizune and Pain’s body to react simultaneously, Shizune twisting and diving behind a thick lab station at the same moment Pain lunged forward. Shizune wove the signs and had only just begun setting off the alarm seals when she had to dodge again as the side of the desk close to her head crumpled under Pain’s attack. He used the proximity to absorb what chakra she had released for the alarm.

Shizune reached out with her scalpel and sliced deep into the body’s arm down the side of a key chakra receptor. Then, she used the cut to yank out the black rod, tearing flesh and tendon with it. Pain’s arm jerked, moving to grab her, but it was slower, clumsier if only by a little. The black rod sent a painful buzzing sensation up Shizune’s arm, interfering with her own chakra. She dropped it, tossing it aside so it skittered along the floor.

There was no way to tell if the alarm had been noticed. Shizune didn’t think she’d managed to fully activate it, but there was no time to reattempt because the body was lunging again. Though one of its arms were useless and the other less capable, its legs were just fine and it used those legs to keep after her.

Shizune dodged, using the full might of her medical training to keep herself from getting cornered or hit, but it was a small office. There was only so much space to move in before she ran out. According to the reports, Pain’s bodies were able to see what the others saw, eliminating any blind spot when they worked together. True enough, though only one of the bodies could move fully, the other with its chakra receptors was watching, its eyes turned toward Shizune and the body fighting her. Still, she didn’t dare taking the fight out into the open where they would be more likely to lose him, not until it became absolutely necessary.

She was beginning to seriously worry about her ability to maintain both her safety and keep Pain in the lab when the windows and door blew inward with simultaneous explosions that scatter papers and lab equipment. Several ANBU members appeared through the holes. Their attack was almost instantaneous, engaging Pain with taijutsu and ninjutsu. Any chakra attack was immediately absorbed by the body, but they quickly adjusted. Even outnumbered, though, Pain was able to fend off their attacks. The other body lay on the exam table, unable to fight but watched everything that happened in the room. Chakra attacks were useless, physical attacks next to useless and their attempts to recapture the remaining body of Pain were going nowhere. Shizune moved to the side, sheet in hand to block the paralyzed body of Pain from seeing the fight if only she could get to that part of the room.

Then, for no apparent reason Pain paused, turning his head toward a window. Normally the gesture would warrant an attack as his guard was let down, but with the other body of Pain watching the room and all of its occupants the distracted action was by no means a break in defense. A moment after looking toward the window, Pain moved. He bolted for the window, the most direct route to the outside world. There were two ANBU members in that direction, but he dodged past defeating one as he evaded the other. Shizune and the others moved to block him, but by the time they made it outside he was gone into the night.

“Find him!” Shizune ordered, “Don’t let him get into the main village! You,” she picked out one of the closest ANBU members, “Come with me to the hospital. We need to make sure Naruto and Jiraiya are secure.”

* * *

Dusk had fallen to darkness by the time Konan finally made it out of the compound into the sweet, fresh breeze. Konan paused to catch her breath, crouched out of sight in an alley way. Around her the night remained quiet and tense. There were no alarms, no shouting and running guards, so far her escape had gone unnoticed, or if it had been noticed it was being kept quiet at the moment.

It took a moment for Konan to get her bearings again. She found the direction she needed to go to get back to the mirror easily. If she wanted to escape that was her best bet, before they fully sent out a search. Still, she hesitated, head turning in another direction, away from the lights of the village and toward the dark outskirts. She frowned, there was something going on out there, the hint of a powerful chakra lingering in the air.

Konan closed her eyes, huddled in the darkest corner she could find as she slowed her heart and stilled the trembling in her limbs. She was exhausted, but doing better now that she’d spent some time out of the chakra restraints. Her reserves were still small, but she could work with what she had. She’d managed to steal some additional paper on her way out of the interrogation center. A few of the sheets were actual chakra paper, ready and able to take on her power with ease, but the rest was just normal paper forms, meant for filing and notes. It was more difficult to work with, but not impossible.

Keeping in mind her control to preserve as much chakra as possible, Konan cast out detecting that faint hint, seeking its origin, both location and source. Her eyes snapped open as she found it and realized whose chakra it was.

The chakra belonged to the Kyūbi, which meant the Kyūbi and its vessel lay in that direction. It was insanity to think she would be able to capture the boy by herself. Undoubtedly, there were guards there, standing over the boy and whatever it was he was doing out late at night. Plus, there would be reinforcements quick to hand from the village and no backup for her. Going after the Kyūbi could be giving up the freedom she had only just attained by walking into a no win situation.

However, Nagato needed that chakra to fulfill his plan, to achieve his dream and Konan had long ago sworn to do whatever was necessary, face whatever the risks to help Nagato achieve his dream.

Face set in grim determination, Konan turned away from the Hokage Tower and toward the Kyuūi's signature. At the very least, she could take a look, see what opposition she would face and assess the situation. Then, if there was no hope for her retrieval of the Kyūbi, she would have intelligence to report back to Nagato. She just had to make sure she was not captured again.

Traveling to the source took longer than she wanted, but she was unwilling to waste any chakra moving quickly while still maintaining her cover. Konan slowed even farther as she reached the origin of the Kyūbi’s chakra. Taking cover in the shadows, she focused on the small group before her. There were only four shinobi besides the Kyūbi vessel, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and another kunoichi. Not the force she had expected when she had first felt the Kyūbi’s chakra. She would have expected better security, but they seemed to be out here covertly. In the dark, a secluded part of the training grounds ready to begin some sort of sealing technique with the Kyūbi’s container as a focal point and glowing chakra crystals around all sides, this could well be the perfect opportunity.

Looking closer, Konan realized that two of the shinobi with them were injured. Kakashi she recognized from the battle for the other Konaha. Konan doubted he was this world’s Kakashi by the sheer amount of injuries and exhaustion evident in his stance. Still, that begged the question how did he arrive here? He must have fallen through during their attempt to get the Kyūbi. It was unlikely but possible. Their spy had sent a message that Kakashi was investigating intelligence leaks, so it was conceivable that he would have tracked the destination and purpose of the messages down to the Hokage Tower in the other world.

One Kakashi or the other, what mattered was the Copy-nin appeared injured. Kakashi stood in the center of the seal with the Kyūbi vessel, not even participating in controlling the seal. Jiraiya knelt on one side of the seal, appearing injured by the hospital clothes and the white bandages visible even in the darkness. Even injured, Jiraiya would be difficult to deal with, it would depend on how badly he had been hurt and how far recovered he was.

Tsunade, however, would be impossible for Konan to handle on her own. Knelt on the other end of the seal, Tsunade appeared to be in perfect health and even at her best Konan knew she would be little match for the Sannin medical expert. Konan didn’t know the fourth and closest kunoichi. The woman’s back was turned and her face hidden, but the back was unrecognizable. Judging by the company, though, Konan would work under supposition that the unknown woman was skilled, possibly a student of Tsunade.

Konan settled into a more comfortable position, deliberating on her options. She was in no shape to fight two of the three Sannin, even if one of them was injured. Kakashi, too, could become a problem. Even though he was injured and worn from days of fighting, if he was the Kakashi from Konan’s world, he was at least able to stand which made him dangerous all the same. Then, there was the unknown Kunoichi. Konan had no way to determine her skill or preferred type of attack.

There was also the matter of her escape if she did manage to lay hands on the Kyūbi. The group would most likely alert the village to Konan’s presence and make it nigh impossible to get to the Hokage Tower and through the mirror. By all rights, she should head back, get home and report to Nagato.

And yet…

Konan honestly couldn’t think of another time the Kyūbi would be so loosely guarded. Two of the four shinobi currently guarding the Kyūbi were injured. Then, while Konan was also far from her best, the group before her seemed completely focused on the sealing technique they were attempting at the moment. The fact that they hadn’t noticed or done anything about Konan yet meant that either their full attention was focused on the seal or they couldn’t break away to deal with her. If that was true then the only one she would have to worry about would be Kakashi. Taking into consideration their original strength and their respective injuries, they were probably evenly matched. Konan might even be a little better off.

It was a gamble. With or without the advantage of surprise, if anyone of the three focused on the seal was able to break away from the technique Konan would be outmatched. She would be recaptured, or worse, killed, and any chance to relay information to Nagato would be lost. However, it could very well be the last chance to get the Kyūbi and the invaluable chakra it possessed. Without the Kyūbi, Nagato’s plan would fail. It was as simple as that, and Konan was not willing to give up on Nagato’s dream.

So there was her answer, foolhardy or not, Konan was not willing to lose this chance for her friend. She took one last inventory of her supplies, a moment to prepare herself, then waited for the right moment to attack.

* * *

_We have definitely bitten off more than we can chew_ , Kakashi thought as he eyed the glowing chakra crystals around them. They had only been at it for twenty minutes, half an hour at most and already several of the crystals glowed brighter with the contained power than they ever had absorbing chakra from medics. So far none of the chakra had leaked through to Naruto, the barrier and the crystals had done a good job capturing the latent Kyūbi chakra and funneling it in the containers. Their trap was working.

But, every time Kakashi snuck a peek at the red chakra hanging thick around the barrier, he could not find any sign that the amount of chakra was decreasing. If anything the red cloud had increased, climbing up the walls of the barrier till they were almost buried in it. Kakashi reached down and absently rubbed circles into Naruto’s back. It was a good thing the boy couldn’t see the chakra, Naruto was nervous enough without seeing the red power clamoring to get at him from all sides. The boy looked up at Kakashi and grinned, though the expression lacked its usual sunny over tones replaced by nervous cracks and shifting eyes.

“It’s working right?” Naruto asked, his voice hushed, barely audible over the breeze. His eyes shifting from Kakashi to Tsunade’s grim concentration, Rin’s determined frown, and settled on Jaraiya’s pale and panting focus.

“It’s working right now,” Kakashi agreed, kneeling down on the grass next to Naruto. The movement was stiff and painful, but was worth the relief of not standing anymore. “But this is delicate, difficult work. We need to let them concentrate.”

Naruto nodded, turning back to the seal and the chakra crystals lying out along the grass. He fiddled with his hands, and squirmed on his feet already tired of standing still. Kakashi smiled. Naruto was trying, but he was never one to sit still for long, too much energy trapped inside too small a body. Part of Kakashi was curious on how much it would affect Naruto’s energy levels to have a whole second Kyūbi trapped inside him, but Kakashi recoiled at the thought even as it entered into his mind. One Kyūbi was strong enough, who knew what it would do to the seal to have twice that much power trapped behind it. The outcome could very well be disastrous for both Naruto and the village.

Kakashi eyed the outermost row of chakra crystals. They glowed bright enough to light the area like electric lights, like a beacon begging for attention. He just hoped no one came around asking awkward questions drawn by the light. Just to be sure no one had grown curious, he closed his eyes and checked the area around them.

Eyes snapping open, Kakashi managed to throw himself in front of Naruto just as the kunoichi appeared, drawing a kunai in time to cross with hers. “You!” Kakashi snarled, recognizing the woman from the siege on Konoha. He struck back, hit air as she leapt away from him.

“Konan!” Jiraiya exclaimed, half surprised gasp, half disappointed reprimand. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”

The woman, Konan, ignored Jiraiya’s questions, dodging around to get past Kakashi. He was slow, but so was she. They’d both been through an ordeal recently. He could see the injuries on her exposed limbs, the exhaustion in her panting breath. They were both low on chakra and physical strength. Kakashi had been in battles like this before, when both opponents were worn down to this extent, it was always the one who wanted it more that prevailed, the first to give up that lost. Kakashi was not going to lose.

“Kakashi-niisan! She’s-” Naruto called.

“Stay behind me,” Kakashi order, cutting off anything Naruto had been gearing up to say, “And stay in the seal.”

Konan dodged around again, making Kakashi stumble as he lunged to block her. She was too tired to take advantage of Kakashi’s exhausted footwork. Something collided into his side, making Kakashi glance down at the explosive tag that had stuck itself to him. He ripped the tag away, tossing it to the side as it exploded. The explosion moved several of the nearest chakra crystals out of position causing their steady glow to waver at the force. The impact of an explosion so close pushed him several feet in the opposite way and lanced pain into his side, but he recovered to block her getting to Naruto.

Sparing a glance at Jiraiya and Rin, Kakashi note the extra strain the battle was putting on their ability to manage the seal properly. Jiraiya’s ragged breath was flecked with blood as he leaned his entire body into the action of sealing the Kyūbi’s chakra.

“Kakashi! You have to get her out of here!” Tsunade ordered voice sharp and glare furious, “She’ll destabilize the crystals fighting inside the seal this way! Move her out of the seal! Naruto! Move those crystals back into place, but stay in the seal as you do so!”

Kakashi nodded sucking in a deep breath. From his periphery he could see Naruto scrambling to his feet and over to the crystals, having been knocked to the edge of the seal by the explosion as well. Kakashi moved forward, striking as fast as he could push his tired, aching muscles and then just a little bit faster than that as he repositioned himself and Konan to make sure he stayed between her and Naruto. His low chakra level made taijutsu his best option for attack and in one corner of his mind he briefly thanked Guy for constantly insisting on sparring. Konan’s initial use of chakra to control the explosive tag and then launching several paper shurikens at him during her counter attacks had drained more of her energy early in the fight, but the explosion that caught Kakashi had also done damage to him.

Feinting to the left, then twisting right, Kakashi managed to catch Konan off guard, pushing his body into her and forcing her outside of the seal. He followed up by stabbing down with his kunai, catching his own leg but sinking most of it into hers. She responded by throwing another explosive tag between them and setting it off at close distance. The explosion threw both of them back, the momentum rolling Kakashi back several yards before he could regain his feet, panting and burned across his chest. He was bleeding as well, the blast had reopened the wound he’d gotten from Pain during the last battle.

Konan hadn’t fared much better. She had a deep gash to the head and burns down her arms in addition to the stab wound to her leg. There was a thin wall of paper she used to protect her torso, but it was charred and crumbling after the blast and the toll on her energy was clear in the drained, white pallor of her face.

They stared at one another for a moment, each trying to regain their breath and rally for the next exchange when a figure dropped between them. Kakashi felt his stomach drop as he recognized the red hair and piercings, one of the members of the Ame invasion unit. The body must have reanimated and escaped from the lab when the portal was opened. The chakra receptors in one arm were gone, leaving the limb dangling and useless, but the rest of the body seemed to work fine.

Cursing Kakashi scrambled to place himself between the two Ame shinobi and the seal. He had no hope of holding them off without help. Fighting an exhausted Konan was one thing, fighting one of those bodies Pain controlled? Kakashi would lose and quickly.

Kakashi was fortunate he didn’t have to because even as he moved to his defensive position Jiraiya spoke up.

“Well, Nagato, I guess this is where I find out how far you’ve really fallen.” Jiraiya’s voice was harsh, muted by his heavy panting and bitter disappointment but still loud in the now quiet training field. “Our reinforcements are on their way. You can try to take Naruto, but you won’t manage it before they get here and Konan is in no shape to escape on her own. So the question is what’s more important to you? The Kyūbi? Or your friend?”

Pain took one last look at Naruto before spinning to Konan, lifting her with his one good arm, and disappearing toward the Tower. Kakashi sagged in relief. More figures dropped in the clearing but they were Konoha ANBU with Shikaku in the lead.

“Pain just left with Konan,” Kakashi said, letting the three others focus on the sealing effort. “They’re heading for the Mirror.”

Shikaku nodded gesturing to the rest of his group, “After them.” He stepped closer as the ANBU scattered into the shadows, eyeing the seal, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Rin around it, and Naruto inside. “I’m going to assume the Hokage doesn’t know what you’re doing right now.”

Kakashi sighed, expression turning into a grimace as his pains began to reawaken with the adrenaline draining from his system. “No he doesn’t, but it is necessary, I can assure you of that.” The cat was out of the bag, not that Minato wasn’t going to find out anyway.

“And related to the Kyūbi,” Shikaku added, calculating expression roving the clearing.

Of course Shikaku would know about the Kyūbi and Naruto’s being a Jinchuriki and the Kyūbi’s chakra was so thick in the clearing even a civilian would notice. Kakashi shook his head, then stopped the motion as it only made his head ache worse and the dizziness increase. “We’ll explain everything when Minato-sensei returns.” Kakashi held up his hands in entreaty, “Just let us finish this.”

Shikaku passed one last measuring glance from Jiraiya to Tsunade and finally on Naruto standing wide-eyed in the center of the seal. “Alright, but I’m sending over someone skilled in sealing chakra in case anything goes wrong.”

“Thank you,” Kakashi said giving a final nod as Shikaku followed the ANBU unit to the tower. Limping back to the seal, Kakashi managed a reassuring smile for Naruto. He was about to tell Naruto that things would likely be fine now, as long as the sealing went well when the first crystal cracked then shattered.

 

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic depiction of someone bleeding to death.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	23. Desperate Measures

 

**Chapter 23: Desperate Measures**

Minato barely had time to land before he had to dodge to the side to avoid an attack from the black robed figure, dragging Pakkun and Aburame with him. The figure was missing the red hair, being completely bald, but the metal spikes in the head, piercings, and rippling pattern in the eyes marked it as one of Pain’s bodies. Even as Minato landed in his new position a long, tail-like metal razor appeared from under the cloak, tearing the cloak to pieces. Aburame dodged left and Minato, still holding Pakkun, dodged right. With the cloak gone, two other sets of arms were visible in addition to two more faces that appeared. The mechanical alterations made this body look more like a puppet than the others.

Minato leapt again landing next to Itachi. “How do you assess his abilities so far?” Minato asked, eyes fixed on the six-armed opponent. He threw a test kunai aiming for the other side of the room only to have it immediately blocked by the long metal tail. Not just blocked, Minato noted, but sliced in half, the cut severing the handle, destroying the seal and rendering the kunai useless for Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique.

“He appears to focus on physical attacks. He hasn’t used any chakra based attacks yet,” Itachi replied. “I believe he will be susceptible to genjutsu.”

“Then you’re well matched.” Minato slipped several of his kunai to the Uchiha. “On my signal.”

Itachi nodded splitting from Minato as the razor tail lashed out, cracking the floor where they stood seconds earlier. Minato flashed to Aburame as the bug expert stopped Pain’s extended arm from reaching him with a wall of insects. When Pain withdrew the limb, scores of the insects remained on the arm, clogging the joints and limiting its mobility.

For a moment, the insects slowed the movement to that limb and Minato charged. Itachi and Aburame were less than half a step behind, coming at Pain from three sides. Minato threw out a dozen kunai a mix of regular and sealed weapons all directed past Pain. Itachi followed suit throwing another dozen toward Pain. That dozen doubled again as the kunai seemed to split in two then in two again. Pain moved to block them, tail and arms whirling through the air focused on Minato’s sealed kunai above all else. A large number fell to the floor, split in half like the first kunai, and still others vanished as Pain touched them, wasting time and movement. However, several flew past Pain skidding on the ground along the hall, almost ignored for being normal kunai.

Minato reached back and grabbed Aburame just as Pain realized his error. Minato flashed to the sealed kunai hidden among the normal and took off running as soon as he and Aburame had landed, Aburame right beside him. Glancing behind, Minato saw Pain pull away his hand revealing missiles embedded in his arm.

“Watch it,” he muttered to Aburame as the missiles launched exploding around them. They dodged the few that made it to them, but it was much less than Minato had heard detonate. Itachi had taken care of the rest, then. They turned the corner and were away from the battle.

The sounds of Itachi’s battle faded into the distance as Minato, Aburame, and Pakkun dashed through the destroyed halls of the Hokage Tower. Lumps of rubble lay in the hallways, holes and cracks revealed the night sky lit orange with distant fires in the city under siege. The Tower might not be salvageable, Minato briefly thought, considering the amount of damage to the walls and structure. If they had to switch to plan “B” and destroy the building it would probably save the Sandaime the effort of doing it later on after the battle for Konoha was decided.

“Aburame,” Minato said as he turned toward the “S” class records room, a prime candidate for any information on the Mirror. “Have your bugs check for any documents bearing the Sandaime’s chakra signature, especially large collections of them in one place. Pakkun, you sniff out any signs of where Pain’s been, or spent large amounts of time.”

“Right,” Pakkun said.

The bug master nodded and for a moment a cloud of bugs swarmed around Aburame before dissipating as they travelled along the corridors and through the cracks. “With the Sandaime still alive, there will be far more objects bearing his signature in the building, perhaps more than we can destroy in time.”

Minato nodded, fully aware of the problem. Any note, order, memo, any paper at all that the Hokage had touched would have a trace of his signature on it. However, the Tower was a mess, many of those ordinary papers were scattered, gone, or destroyed. Pain in his efforts to learn about the Mirror would have collected any information in one place to conduct his research.

“We’ll need to cover all of the possibilities,” Minato said rounding the corner. “The three of us will focus on the most likely locations, the “S” Class records room, the Hokage’s office, the experiment rooms, but we’ll need to know if there’s a collection of the Sandaime’s papers somewhere else, especially if it’s an abnormal location.”

Aburame nodded, slowing with Minato when they reached the records room. Aburame’s bugs had already reached the room and there was a number of them crawling over surfaces and papers scattered over the floor. The room itself, however, clearly held little if anything of interest to them. It was half stripped bare, half burned out. The only remaining papers in the room were partially burned scraps on the edges of a heap of ash in the center of the room.

From the looks of the debris, Minato would say Konoha Shinobi had cleared much of the room then burned the remaining documents that could not be removed in time. Burning, though, if not done thoroughly could leave remnants.

Pakkun sniffing through the ruins confirmed Minato’s suspicions. “The Ame-nin were in this room, searching through the remains. That guy from the mirror room, Pain, was here looking through the ashes.”

Minato nodded. It wasn’t what they were looking for, but he was certain Pain had accumulated everything he had found in one location. “Burn it all again, make sure it’s all destroyed.”

Retreating from the room, the three were followed by a small cloud of bugs fleeing the impending destruction. With a short nod from Aburame, Minato and he let loose two fire balls into the room incinerating the remaining paper and furniture in a whirlwind of flame.

They turned and sped off toward the next possible location, the experiment rooms used by ANBU and the Hokage alike to create and store experimental techniques, when Aburame cocked his head listening to his insects.

“What is it?” Minato asked. Finding the information could not be as easy as this.

“There is something on the uppermost floor,” Aburame said, slowing as he focused on his insects. “A large concentration of chakra, Pain’s chakra according to my tracking insects.”

“Pain’s chakra?” Minato repeated, mind already running through the possible explanations. To control his bodies Pain used metal chakra receptors, according to what they had discovered so far. Pain would need a place to transmit them from and the higher the location the better for maximum range.

“Change of plan,” Minato said, picking up speed again. Aburame hurried to increase his pace, Pakkun on both their heels. “Continue searching the likely areas the Sandaime would store information on the Mirror. Then any concentrations your insects discover. Destroy anything that seems suspicious, however unlikely it is connected. I’m going to check out the chakra concentration.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Aburame nodded.

At the next intersection they split, Minato bounding up a smashed stairwell while Aburame and Pakkun turned into the darker recesses of the inner-most Tower. If Minato was right, that chakra concentration was Pain, the real Pain, or Nagato as Jiraiya had called him. While Pain’s bodies posed formidable opponents more powerful than any normal puppet, they would still follow the same rules as all puppet masters. Take out the one controlling them and the puppets became harmless.

* * *

“Hokage-sama!” the chūnin burst into the room bouncing the door off the wall and nearly receiving several kunai through his skull.

“Hold!” Sarutobi barked, harsh gaze sweeping the room resting finally on the messenger.

The chūnin whether by fatigue, haste, or simple lack of experience didn’t seem to notice how close he came to harm, hurrying instead to where Sarutobi stood near the map table. “Sir! We’ve had indications of an increase in chakra in the Hokage Tower. All intelligence points toward some sort of battle taking place inside the Tower.”

Shikaku’s gaze cut to Sarutobi sharp and calculating despite the fatigue. “It could be Kakashi. That was the area we lost contact with him and we have no evidence that he’s been killed besides the lack of contact.”

Sarutobi nodded, a deep frown on his face. “It could be Kakashi, or it could be the others.” From the look in Shikaku’s eyes, Sarutobi knew he did not have to elaborate on who the others could be. Minato had had more than enough time to figure out a way back through the portal. There was also the large possibility that Pain had pieced together how to open the portal and had attempted to retrieve Naruto. The chakra signals they’d received from the Tower earlier indicated something had happened there and the most likely explanation was that the Mirror had been activated again. Whichever was the case, this was an opportunity they could not waste.

“What is the status of the Iwa front lines?” Sarutobi asked, checking his map for the most recent location of their forces.

“They’ve been stable for the past forty-eight hours,” Shikaku said. He’d only recently returned from surveilling the ground situation. “Our push between the Iwa and Ame lines has successfully driven a wedge between them. There’s only a small area that connects their two forces. The Iwa seem to be setting up defensive positions and all indications show that they are suffering from heavy casualties and limited supplies.”

Sarutobi nodded. “A third of our forces from that operation will stay and maintain the division between the Iwa and Ame lines. The rest will turn and focus on the Ame forces. Shikaku, you know the situation, focus on their weaknesses but head for the Hokage Tower as much as possible. Bring up as many reserves as you dare to aid in the attack.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Shikaku said, he turned and left the room shouting orders before he fully exited the door.

* * *

Despite his efforts, Jiraiya knew it was no use, the crystals were failing. The balance of power being thrust into them was already precarious when they began and with the interruption from Konan it was now impossible. Perhaps if they could get another crystal from somewhere they could salvage the situation, but that was about as likely as Jiraiya waking from this nightmare in his bed.

The cracking and shattering of another crystal rose above the night. Jiraiya grit his teeth narrowing his focus on the rest of the crystals, but the sheer immensity of power was already straining the chakra containers, losing one of the crystals only increased the burden on the rest and they hadn’t even sealed half of the Kyūbi’s chakra away yet. Another crystal cracked then shattered, releasing the Kyūbi’s chakra it contained out to the others. This wasn’t going to work.

 “It’s no good,” Jiraiya said, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead as he fought with his lingering injuries and the immense concentration required to successfully direct the Kyūbi’s chakra. “With those crystals gone, the others will never be able to handle the rest of the Kyūbi’s power.”

“If they even could handle it to begin with,” Tsunade said through gritted teeth as she sat across from Jiraiya managing her third of the monstrous chakra. Then, a little louder, “It’s too late to stop now. There’s too much of concentration now. We’d never escape it in time, even with the chakra suppressants. We need something that can hold the remaining chakra.”

“There isn’t anything. The only other thing we have are sealing scrolls and the Kyūbi’s chakra is too powerful, too corrosive for that type of binding,” Kakashi said, panting from where he knelt down pale and shaking next to Naruto inside the seal. The short battle with Konan had done more harm than he anticipated, taking away what little progress he’d made in regaining his strength. Still, he kept his eyes on Naruto, sharingan eye cracked open and ready to counter the Demon Fox should it try to break free using Naruto. He already had a handful of chakra suppressants ready to slap on the kid if necessary.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” Tsunade growled, not even sparing a glance at Kakashi. “You were in no shape to be fighting Konan, even if it was necessary, and you’re definitely in no shape to be using your sharingan. With your low levels of chakra at the moment it could kill you!”

Kakashi made no move to either take his eyes off Naruto or cover his sharingan. “Unfortunately, Tsunade-sama, we are extremely low on alternative options at the moment. What about the backup Shikaku mentioned?”

Tsunade growled. “All they’ll be able to do is help manage the chakra we’ve attracted. It still won’t give us a container strong enough to hold it. Plus, they’re taking too long.”

An explosion echoed from the direction of the Hokage Tower. “I think that’s the answer,” Kakashi said, eyes still fixed on a pale and shaking Naruto. “They’re probably tied up trying to keep Pain and Konan away from the Mirror. Help’s not coming in time.”

The following silence seemed to grow heavier in the moments just before Rin spoke. “There’s one other option,” she said from her own place at the perimeter of the seal. Her voice was more serious, more devoid of emotion than Jiraiya had ever heard it, the strain of managing her side of the seal clear.

A long moment stretched out when Rin failed to continue. There was no need to say it out loud, everyone in the small gathering knew what the other option was but Jiraiya gave it name anyway. “We’re not creating another jinchuriki,” he said, voice hard and final. “None of us are in any condition to handle it at the moment.”

“I can handle it,” Rin said through clenched teeth. “The seal we’re using to force the chakra into the crystals isn’t incredibly different from some seals used on people I’ve seen. We just need to modify it and you’ll be able to seal the chakra inside me.”

“No!” Kakashi snarled, startling Naruto and making him flinch away from the ferocity in Kakashi’s tone. Kakashi reached out a shaking hand and gently pulled Naruto back to his side, rubbing circles into the boy’s back. Naruto grabbed onto his uniform wide, terrified gaze switching between each person as they spoke. Kakashi shook his head. “Jiraiya-sama has already said we’re not creating another Jinchuriki. We’ll think of another solution.”

Jiraiya tried to calculate how long it would take the chakra sealer Shikaku had mentioned to get to their location if they were tied up fighting Pain. Perhaps, they could run and get another container to use while the rest simply help the status quo? Another two crystals shattered into shards and dust, disappearing into the dark grass. He shook his head. It would take too long if the crystals kept failing at the present rate. The crystal immediately to Jiraiya’s left split in two then shattered like the others. Jiraiya heaved a breath only to cough, feeling it come out wet and tasting of copper.

“We might not have any other options,” Tsunade said, her eyes narrowed at Jiraiya. “The crystals are only going to fail faster as each one shatters.” She fell silent then cursed shaking her head. “Rin, lay down on the seal.”

“Tsunade, what will Minato say when he comes back only to find that we turned one of his students into a Jinchuriki?” Jiraiya could feel the sinking weight that preceded every choice he ever made that he later regretted, even if he knew it was necessary.

“He’s done similar things before, made sacrifices in the past,” Tsunade said, eyes flickering to Naruto as she carefully avoided saying what Jiraiya knew she meant. Minato had turned his own son into a Jinchuriki. “He’ll understand.” Tsunade, hands still clasped as she began making her way around the circle to where Rin was doing her best to position herself in the seal without disturbing the already strained crystals or her taxed concentration.

Jiraiya thought back to the horror Minato had expressed upon his discovery that in another world he had turned his son into the container for one of the tailed beasts. He wasn’t so sure Minato would be as understanding as Tsunade believed, not initially at least.

“You won’t like it,” Naruto said, drawing everyone’s gaze to his hunched form. He stared at Rin with wide eyes, hands clenched in two small fists wrapped around his middle. “It’s lonely.”

Rin stared at him, surprised for a moment. Then, her expression softened to one that Jiraiya had rarely seen in the past ten years. It was the same expression so full of compassion that made him initially doubt if she would make it in the shinobi world, back before the heartaches and losses that came with this life built a hard shell around her. “It’ll be alright,” she said, with that soft smile she used to give to Obito. “You’re not alone anymore. You’ve got Minato and Kakashi and Tsunade and Jiraiya and me. And Itachi has a younger brother you’ll be able to play with and you’ll make plenty of friends at school.” She took a shaky breath. “Neither one of us is alone, alright?”

Naruto nodded, eyes falling to the grass.

“Rin-” Kakashi said, but he choked unable to continue and Jiraiya wondered what had happened in the other world to the other Rin. Several more crystals failed and broke.

“It’s alright,” Rin repeated, though the smile she gave Kakashi held more sorrow and more pity. “It’ll be alright.”

Tsunade had made it around to Rin, who positioned as much of herself on the seal as possible. “Jiraiya, you’re going to have to manage the whole seal for a few moments. Kakashi put some of the chakra suppressors on Naruto, not all of them, just enough to try and slow the buildup of the Kyūbi’s chakra, cut him off from it…And don’t let him look when I start.”

No one protested, though Jiraiya had to bite his tongue. The crystals were failing and they were out of options. He could feel the moment Rin and Tsunade released their control of the seal and gasped at the pressure of the Kyūbi chakra around them. They didn’t need Naruto as bait anymore, there was enough of the latent chakra here to act as its own lure. They’d underestimated the power of the Kyūbi and they were paying for it. With each crystal that broke the pressure increased. There were few crystals still undamaged and he didn’t know how long he could manage the seal with the full weight of Kyūbi’s chakra behind it trying to escape. Even now, he could tell there was a small flow of Kyūbi chakra making it past the seal to Naruto. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough to trigger Naruto to lose control, not yet, at least.

Jiraiya could also tell the exact moment Tsunade began the sealing. Rin gasped, then bit back the sound with a pained moan. He looked at Kakashi, caught the other man’s eye and dipped his head toward Naruto. Kakashi nodded, turned Naruto away, tucking the boy under his arm and covering Naruto’s ears. Not too soon, either, since shortly after that Rin began to scream.

* * *

  Pain grit his teeth as he dodged another attack from the other world’s Kakashi. The Mirror proved to be a hindrance to both their powers, but more so to Pain than to the famous Copy-nin. Pain had the additional burden of splitting his concentration three, soon to be four, ways. Besides Kakashi, Pain had another battle with Itachi occurring, then also moving the injured Konan back through the mirror Konoha. To top it off, the Yondaime was headed in his direction, would probably arrive soon with little or no warning from the protection and surveillance seals if the Hokage’s reputed skill as a seal-master was true.

Retrieving Konan was priority. Pain made that decision when he turned from his chance to take the Kyūbi during the ceremony Jiraiya-sensei was conducting. That meant protecting the Mirror so she would have a way back and giving her the opportunity to slip through while surrounded by Konoha ANBU. He would probably lose Gakidou Path but that was a minor price after losing the Kyūbi. He could always reestablish the paths at a later date. Regaining a lost friend, however, was not as easily done.

Konan flickered out of consciousness for a moment distracting Pain’s concentration from his two battles and resulted in the loss of one of Asura Path’s arms. Pain’s expression did not twitch as the body fighting Itachi lost an arm. The Asura Path was most likely lost as well, or would need significant repairing when everything was over. He was running out of time for his friend, but she was close, entering the mirror Hokage Tower in the next few moments.

Focusing on Kakashi and the other ANBU that slipped through, Pain left the hint of an opening, pushing away at an attack earlier than necessary. The ANBU, younger and less experienced took the bait and was immediately drawn into one of Pain’s metal rods as they underestimated the recovery time for the minor push. Kakashi was not so easily fooled, avoiding the double bluff with ease of experience.

However, Pain pushed the struggling body of the ANBU away, still alive but injured enough to require medical treatment. Kakashi would not leave a teammate to bleed to death and for several moments the Copy-nin was occupied with retrieving his injured comrade.

In that brief pause, Pain’s other body appeared with Konan on the other side of the Mirror. The ANBU were not expecting the threat to come from the corridor and for a moment were caught off guard. The opening was small, Kakashi distracted by a seriously injured comrade and the ANBU focused on the enemy to the rear, but Nagato knew it was enough for Konan, injured though she was. 

The Gakidou Path maneuvered between the ANBU and the Mirror then spun Konan toward the Mirror, blocking the ninjutsu thrown at it by the ANBU. Konan stumbled, barely able to remain on her feet, but she used the momentum throwing herself closer to the Mirror. Abandoning his positon, Pain reached through the portal and Pulled Konan toward him, latching onto her arm as she came in reach.

Kakashi saw the opening, a true opening a fraction of a second before it happened lunging out from his cover where the injured ANBU lay wrapped in a hasty field dressing. The kunai slipped through Nagato’s defense slicing deep into Nagato’s arm as he blocked it from embedding into his body. Nagato only just managed to recover and push Kakashi away before yanking Konan completely back through the Mirror to their home world.

On the other side of the Mirror, the ANBU had switched to tai-jutsu and were joined by the ANBU forces giving chase to the Gakidou Path. Even with the additional eyes he’d gained with Gakidou Path and distraction on the other side of the Mirror, with the additional ANBU forces newly arrived, Nagato judged the odds of the fight were against him. He’d have to abandon the position. Wrapping an around his friend, still alive if injured, Nagato could not bring himself to care.

The Mirror held little meaning, now that Nagato had Konan back on the proper side and Kyūbi was firmly out of their reach. At best it could work as a distraction giving himself and Konan a chance to get away. Nagato adjusted his arm more securely around Konan. Then he held out a hand toward the room’s door and Pushed.

The rubble, so far untouched by Pain’s weaker attacks, shifted instantly to the side. Behind him several ANBU cried in alarm as more large cracks appeared in the Mirror immediately abandoning their part in fighting the Gakidou Path to stabilize the Crystal.

Kakashi moved to shield himself and the Injured ANBU from the flying debris being Pushed away leaving the exit open. Nagato dashed out of the exit, pulling the debris behind him as he passed through the gaping hole in the wall. Out in the hall, Itachi flung a series of fireballs at Nagato and Konan, masking the attack behind a separate one aimed toward the Asura Path. The Asura Path extended an arm, pulling Pain and Konan out of the way and flung them further along the corridor.

Nagato ran until the sounds of battle between Asura and Itachi died to faint sounds of explosions every few minutes. He slowed, setting Konan on the ground to examine her injuries. “How serious are your wounds?” he asked, examining the largest and newest blood stains marring her clothes as he spoke.

Konan winced panting against the pain and exhaustion as Nagato probed her injuries. “I’ll survive,” she said through gritted teeth. “A little rest and I’ll be back on my feet, don’t worry. It’s more chakra exhaustion than anything.” She fell silent, avoiding his gaze for several minutes before continuing in a quiet voice, “I failed to retrieve the Kyūbi and we won’t get a second chance.”

Nagato shook his head. “We’ll find another way. The Kyūbi isn’t worth your life.”

Konan sighed, shaking her head and Nagato was certain her assessment of the situation differed from his. “What’s our next move?” she asked, pushing and scraping her way to her feet. She made it without any help from Nagato but had to lean on the wall for support.

“I’m getting you out of the village,” Nagato said. “The Konoha shinobi, both those from the other world and from this are occupied in separate battles. We have a chance to get you out.”

Konan shook her head. “I’m not leaving without you.”

“You don’t have a choice in the matter,” Nagato said, face impassive as he turned down the hall away from the battles. “The Yondaime is currently headed toward the control room. There isn’t time to get my original body out and even if there was I need to maintain control of the remaining Paths to hold off the Konoha shinobi.”

“No,” Konan said and Nagato turned to her. She had not moved at all, leaning against the wall with a fierce expression on her face. She turned and stumbled in the opposite direction, a bloody hand on the wall holding her up as she shuffled along. “I’m not abandoning you here.”

Nagato hurried back to his friend pulling her around again. “Konan, you can’t do anything here, you’re too injured. I’m not losing you.”

“And neither am I!”  Konan spat, wrenching her arm out of Nagato’s hold. The movement over tipped her balance and she fell against the wall gasping for air. “We didn’t leave each other when we were children growing up in that hell of constant war and we didn’t leave each other when Jiraiya-sensei had to return to Konoha. We stayed together through all the years of fighting to make Amegakure a safe place to live and we stuck together after Hanzou’s betrayal and Yahiko’s death. I’m not abandoning you now!” By the end of her speech what remained of her stoic expression had cracked and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Konan turned, moving back down the hall toward the stairs. “The Yondaime only cares about protecting his Konoha and his son. The Kyūbi is beyond our reach, but there are other options. We can strike a deal, survive to find those other options. I’m not going to let you stop me in this.”

Nagato knew the stiff set in Konan’s shoulders. He had seen it many times during practice, battle, and in the everyday struggle to survive in a war-torn country. Konan had always been the more conciliatory one of their group, always trying to reconcile differences, end arguments, and heal hurt feelings, however, that just made the rare times when she dug her heels in on an issue that much more pronounced. She would not give way on this even if she had to fight Deva Path to achieve it.

Nagato stood for a long, agonizing moment and watched his oldest and best friend limping along the corridor. He moved to her side, scooping her arm over his shoulder. “If the Yondaime shows any indication he is not willing to talk or is preparing to attack I’m taking you out of there and out of the city.”

Konan smiled through the bruises, renewing a trickle of blood from her split lip, a small broken expression. “Fine.” Whatever happened they would still have each other, Nagato could see she would make sure of it.

 

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	24. Confrontation: Part 1

**Chapter 24: Confrontation: Part 1**

The Tower was surprisingly empty of Ame guards. There were the few that had been near the Mirror room then a couple that had been on the ground floor, all expected security measures. Minato ran into surprisingly little else as he made his way up the Tower to the top floor. It was possible any Ame-nin were called away to help with the front lines.

Passing by a large hole blown out of the side of the third floor, Minato could see smoke and hear explosions in the distance. The city itself lay in rubble for the limited view he had. Minato sincerely hoped it was only part of the city that sustained so much damage. He’d heard precious little about the battle occurring in this Konoha, only what Kakashi was able to relay, but the picture told of a stalled invasion with slow moving front lines. No matter who won, Konoha’s strength would be diminished for years to come. Their only hope was they still had many of their higher ranking shinobi left, or at least they had when Kakashi had last been in contact with the remaining Konoha forces.

Minato banished the grim thoughts of this Konoha’s fate from his mind as he hurried to the fourth floor. This Konoha was not his responsibility. He was here for his own village and for his son and that was his main focus.

On the fifth floor, Minato encounter two more Ame-nin, more than had been on the floors beneath but hardly adequate security. Of course, who would expect enemy shinobi this deep behind lines? They were unprepared and would not have been a match for Minato even if they had been. Minato neutralized them even before they became aware of the threat.

On the sixth floor, Minato slowed, expecting more security on the top floor. The seals protecting the corridor, therefore, came as no surprise. Dismantling them while not alerting their creator of their absence took several minutes and after that he moved with more caution toward the chakra concentration in the center of the building.

Along the walls Minato could see faint trails of Aburame’s insects leading to and clustering around a door halfway up the corridor. That was the source of the chakra concentration and most likely the location of Nagato’s real body. The encounter could go multiple ways. Knowing what he did about Nagato’s objectives and the lengths Nagato was willing to go to achieve them, Minato knew there was a good possibility he would have to kill Nagato in order to end this. However, the unknowns, the reason why Nagato was hunting Naruto, the character of the man himself, left open the small possibility that Minato might be able to reason with him. Kunai at the ready in each hand and face set behind his ANBU mask, Minato stepped around the corner into the room.

Two figures occupied the room, one dressed in black robes and sprouting red hair like all the other bodies of Pain controlled by Nagato. The other was an emaciated figure with limp red hair and paper white, almost gray skin. He was strapped into a large machine and while he lacked the heavy facial and body piercings, heavy rods stuck out of his back like some form of twisted human porcupine. The rippling pattern on his eyes vanished any doubts Minato may have had concerning the man’s identity.

“Nagato,” Minato said by way of a greeting and introduction as he stopped half a step inside the room. Cables from the machine containing Nagato snaked around the room to seven large pods. Minato ran a quick tally in his head, counting the last black cloaked figure before him as the seventh. So there were no other bodies of Pain hiding in the reserves. The relief Minato felt, while acute was short lived. The ones they knew about were more than enough to cause problems.

“Yondaime-Hokage,” Nagato returned, his voice deep and hoarse.

Minato lifted his mask. There was little point to keeping it on at the moment. There was half a second of silence as Minato surveilled the man before him. Kakashi reported on the radio that Pain’s body guarding the Mirror had abandoned its post, fleeing with Konan into the Tower. The shift in priorities away from the Mirror and by extension, Naruto was not lost on Minato.

Taking another half step further into the room, Minato dodged as a slew of kunai shot from the walls on either side. He brought up his own kunai blocking an attack from the black robed figure remaining in the room. There was a brief flurry of taijutsu before Minato and the last body of Pain pushed apart throwing Minato into the path of a large spear shot from Nagato’s machine. The spear was large and unwieldy despite its speed and Minato side stepped it without difficulty.

The last body of Pain moved in again, attacking as Minato avoided the spear. Trading blows with the larger figure, Minato looked for any indication of this body’s special skill. The taijutsu moves, while aided by Nagato’s second pair of eyes watching from his original body were ordinary. There was a brief moment where Pain grabbed hold of Minato and Minato felt an almost paralyzing tug on something in the back of his throat, but he flashed away, throwing off the strange attack.

If this was the last body Nagato had for his own defense then he must be at the end of his resources, Minato reasoned as the body once again turned and attacked him with another series of taijutsu moves. Minato reached out, wrapping a small chain around a chakra rod poking out of Pain’s shoulder through the torn black coat. Pulling on the chain as he spun around, Minato dislodged the chakra rod partly but failed to pull it completely free from the body. Pain twisted away to prevent a second attempt to remove the chakra receptor.

Minato frowned adjusting his plan of attack. The chakra receptors were too deeply imbedded in the body to pull them out with ease so if he could not attack the chakra receptors he would focus on the chakra transmitter. Explosives would be more effective but considering the damage to the building Minato had seen, the safer course was to stick with the kunai. He spun, sending a kunai at one of the cables that led from Nagato’s machine. It clanged as another kunai hit it deflecting both from their original course.

Minato flashed to the other side of the room, throwing multiple kunai out at once. Pain blocked some but could not reach all and three kunai to hit their mark embedding in cables that ran from Nagato’s machine with a crackle of energy. Minato repeated the action, flashing to another point and throwing a series of kunai, then instantly to another point with another group of kunai.

Pain had moved to a purely defensive stance, blocking kunai from reaching the central portion of the machine. His speed was no match for Minato, though. Having the connected vision between Nagato himself and the body controlled did not make up for the fact that he simply could not react quickly enough to Minato’s changing positions. Soon, multiple kunai pierced the machine, sparking and flashing with power shorting out from the damage.

The body was already moving slower, clumsier than at the start. Minato flashed to the back of the room, ready to imbed another slew of kunai into what looked like the transmitter. The body was too far away to hope to counter them and considering the damage to the machine already Minato would not be surprised if that final stroke ended it and with it control of all the bodies of Pain currently functional.

“Wait!” a desperate voice rang out, halting Minato’s strike.

Minato looked up and saw the woman, Konan, standing in the door, leaning heavily against Pain’s primary body. “The bodies in the lab,” he said. “They helped you escape.” He should have ensured all of the chakra receptors had been removed from the captured bodies. Minato cursed his own impatience to end the threat to his village and son.

“Yes,” Konan said, gasping out the word. Minato eyed her from his position.

The addition of Yahiko’s body would make little difference in the eventual outcome of this fight. Even now, Minato could see the body having difficulty with its movement, similar to the other body Nagato had guarding the room. Konan herself was no threat in her injured condition.

“I’ve come to negotiate,” Konan said, panting deeply as she regained her breath. She looked close to collapse.

Minato’s gaze slid from the woman to Nagato, hanging almost limp and panting in the machine.

“You have nothing to negotiate with,” Minato said. He maintained his stance, ready to strike. Nagato was injured, at the disadvantage, but had proven himself a skillful opponent and not someone who you would want to give any openings.

Konan shook her head. “We do. You want your world safe from this one, correct? We have the information we used to activate the mirror. Without that, no one new can open the mirror again.”

Minato stared at her, face impassive, but she was right. Nagato and Konan handing the information over was a far better scenario than Minato having to search the building in hopes of discovering it.

“You will immediately withdraw all forces under your command from the city. And you will leave all of this equipment and the different bodies used as the Paths of Pain behind. Once you have left the city you will offer terms of surrender to the Sandaime-hokage and give whatever aid he may request in defeating the IWA forces if they decide to remain in the village.” Minato looked to Nagato. Konan might be the driving force behind the negotiation, but in the end there was no doubt who would make the final decision.

“We will not surrender and leave ourselves at the mercy of Konoha shinobi,” Nagato snarled.

“And we will not leave the body of our friend behind,” Konan added almost on top of Nagato’s declaration.

“Take the body of your friend with you,” Minato gave way on that point with a brief thought to Obito’s body left buried in some cave. “But the rest stays here,” he said gesturing to the damaged machinery which allowed Nagato to control his many bodies from one location. “And you will offer terms, at the very least not to attack Konoha again or aid her enemies in the future.”

Nagato glared in a heavy silence. “Only to be betrayed and slaughtered at some later time?” he muttered.

“I cannot control the future actions of this Konoha,” Minato said, “But my other option is to kill you now.”

Nagato huffed a bitter laugh, “And the cycle of hate continues.”

Minato frowned the comment reminded him of Jiraiya’s long time conundrum occasionally brought up during moments of deep reflection. Nagato was undoubtedly a student of Jiraiya. Minato didn’t come here to debate philosophy, though, and his time was limited. “Hatred only continues if we allow it to continue, if we let it control our actions and seek vengeance. I will not commit useless slaughter if it can be avoided, but do not think I won’t cut you down now if there is no other way.” 

“Nagato,” Konan breathed in the following silence, drawing the red head’s attention. The silent exchange between them told Minato it was the continuation of an ongoing conversation between the two friends.

“Very well,” Nagato said. “We will withdraw from Konoha. I do not have control of the Iwa forces, and I will not betray them, but...we will not attack Konoha again.”

Minato nodded just as the building shook with a nearby explosion. Dust and small gravel from the ceiling dropped down on top of them as the lights flickered. Everyone in the room froze, listening. Another blast went off but it was in the distance, nothing more than a far off pop. “Give the order and cease all hostilities.”

Nagato took a deep breath before nodding. There was a moment as he closed his eyes, a look of concentration coming over his face. Minato heard Itachi speaking through their ear piece.

“Hokage-sama, Pain has stopped his attack,” Itachi said and was closely followed by Kakashi.

“The body attacking on the other side of the mirror has also stopped,” Kakashi reported confirming Minato’s conclusion that the body from the lab had reanimated.

Itachi spoke up again. “The body facing me is heading for the exit. Do you wish me to pursue?”

“No,” Minato muttered, his low voice carrying in the quiet room. “Maintain your position.”

Lowering his kunai, Minato kept his focus on Nagato. The moment stretched out as Nagato stared at his friend Konan, speaking in that silent language only available to life-long friends. “Well?” Minato said.

“I am ordering my forces to withdraw. The information we used to reactivate the portal is on the fifth floor, fourth door from the stairwell,” Nagato said looking at Minato for the first time since agreeing to the terms. Several more explosions went off in the distance, like staccato notes.

“Aburame,” Minato muttered, this time muffling his words behind a hand. “Fifth floor, fourth door down from the stairs. Be careful.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Aburame said and the ear piece fell silent. If Nagato told the truth, Minato would know in short order.

Minato surveyed the three figures before him. The reanimated body was easily in better condition than the two other living persons in the room. “Knowing what you can do with this machine, I have no intention of leaving it intact. Do you need to call one of your men to assist you?”

“That will not be necessary,” Nagato said. He looked back to Konan and she nodded, grabbing on to the door frame for support as Yahiko’s body stepped forward to Nagato. The body turned around as Nagato reached out a grabbed hold of Yahiko’s shoulders, pulling himself free of the machine. The other body, the one Minato fought in the room when he first arrived, collapsed in a heap as Nagato left the machine. Yahiko’s body stumbled, almost collapsed but righted itself as Nagato grabbed two large metal piercings on the back, like a puppet that had a momentary lapse in control from the puppeteer. It reached down and scooped up Nagato’s motionless legs to carry him piggy back.

Yahiko’s body stepped away from the machine, carrying Nagato to where Konan steadied herself against the wall.

“Hokage-sama,” Aburame’s voice came back over Minato’s ear piece. “There is a large collection of the Sandaime’s research here, much of it tied to the Mirror.”

“Burn it all, make sure none of it survives. Then meet up with Kakashi and Itachi once the job is done,” Minato said and turned back to the Ame shinobi. “Go,” Minato said. “Get out of the village before all escape is cut off and never come back.”

Minato waited until the two were away then drove his kunai into the machine. Sparks flew out and an ear splitting whining noise emanated from the device. Minato hesitated before placing several explosive tags on the machine for good measure. A limited explosion shouldn’t do too much damaged to the rest of the already damaged building. He hurried around the machine, following Nagato and Konan out to the hall.

Konan limped along, one hand leaving a bloody trail as she helped herself along with the wall, the other hand clenched on Yahiko’s arm as Nagato manipulated the body carrying him. Minato watched them make their way to the stairs. He stepped away from the door and set off the explosive tags. The building shook with the impact of the blast. A quick check showed the tags had done the job, reducing Nagato’s machine to torn wires and twisted metal.

Nodding to himself, Minato collected his scattered kunai. Now, all that was left was to return the injured Kakashi to his home world and destroy the damn Mirror once and for all.

Minato flashed to the Mirror room using one of his many kunai scattered about the floor. Kakashi sat on a chunk of the ceiling that had fallen near the Mirror his hitai pulled down over his eye and Itachi stood in the hole that used to resemble a doorway, one eye on the outer hall leading to the Mirror room. The Mirror looked worse for wear, surrounded by the rubble of a broken room with veins of dusty sunlight filtering down through cracks and gaps in the ceiling. The shatter lines on the Mirror had splintered and multiplied till they covered almost every portion of the Mirror’s surface. Some parts of the Mirror were so damaged making out what was on the other side was impossible. The rest of the image was fractured and disjointed.

Two ANBU members knelt on the other side in Minato’s own world, focusing chakra through the inter-dimensional device in positions mirroring Pain’s from earlier. The Mirror looked as though it would shatter to pieces the moment the extra support of the chakra focused on it stopped. Another bomb went off, this one more distant only knocking a little dust into the air. They only needed to keep the Mirror together for a little while longer then it could shatter to dust for all Minato cared.

“I assume you found how Pain was controlling his multiple bodies and stopped it,” Kakashi said, gesturing to a collapsed figure on the other side of the portal. “He stopped then just collapsed, pretty sudden way to end a fight.”

Minato nodded as another explosion rocked the building. This one knocked a few small rocks from the ceiling, rattled the walls and shook the floor. “Sarutobi’s taking advantage of our attack more than likely,” he observed as he shook some of the dust and grit from his hair.

“They’re getting closer,” Kakashi said eyes on the ceiling. “They’ll probably take back the area around the Tower soon. Do you want us to let them in if they get here before we finish our business?”

Minato paused before shaking his head. “No, if Sarutobi shows up I’ll talk with him but keep everyone else out. We’re not getting involved any more than we already have. I‘m going through to bring your counterpart back, hold the portal until I’m back.” He stepped toward the Mirror but stopped and turned back to Kakashi. “Actually, if any Konoha shinobi show up looking to get inside tell them that only the Sandaime-Hokage’s presence is permitted entry. I’d like to have a few words with him.”

Kakashi nodded face the same impassive expression as always. “Can’t imagine what that’s going to be about,” he said, his dry sarcasm following Minato through the Mirror.

* * *

The misery coming back from their failed attempt to trap the Kyūbi chakra into something other than a human being was the special kind that followed bitter defeat. It was a mixture of failure, disappointment, depression, and anger combined with the physical pain that usually came after such experiences. Kakashi had felt this particular misery several times before starting with losing his father, then followed by Obito. Rin's death had the extra jolt of knowing it was his hand that had killed her. Minato and Kushina's loss had the added bitterness of Kakashi being prevented from even trying to help. Each time felt worse than the last, but this time came with the knowledge that Rin had been hurt all over again and he could not help but feel to blame.

Their sorry group, if possible, moved slower than they had making their way out to the training fields earlier in the night. Tsunade pushed a panting Jiraiya in his wheel chair while Kakashi and Naruto struggled to keep up with Rin collapsed in the second wheel chair. The sealing had left her half conscious and in no shape to walk. Kakashi, himself, only managed to stay upright thanks to the support from the chair, the rushed healing job Tsunade had managed, combined with his own stubbornness. Naruto insisted on helping push the wheelchair, but Kakashi might not have managed otherwise. The young blond leaned his entire body against the back of the chair, more silent and solemn than Kakashi had ever seen him.

Painful though it was, limping back to the hospital, Kakashi dreaded what would happen when they arrived. Shikaku would report back to Minato, not that Minato-sensei wouldn't have discovered their plan eventually. Still, trapping the latent Kyūbi chakra inside a series of crystals was better than creating a Jinchuriki from one of Minato's oldest students. Kakashi had rarely batted an eye at exasperating his sensei when Kakashi was younger, but he hated to give Minato cause to be truly disappointed and Minato-sensei would be disappointed, not to mention furious.

Yes, the trek back was a special kind of misery.

The moment of reckoning came sooner than Kakashi expected. The Yondaime-Hokage appeared next to Rin and Naruto with nothing more than a whisper of displaced air. He took in the sight of them, three of their group injured, Tsunade exhausted, and Naruto white as a sheet and trying his best to hide behind the wheel chair. Kakashi flinched at the furious expression on Minato's face.

"What have you done?" Minato asked in a low voice, hard as stone that signaled true anger.

"What we had to," Tsunade stepped forward after locking Jiraiya's wheel chair into place. "We couldn't let the situation with the Kyūbi continue and the other Konoha might not be so willing to just let go of their Jinchuriki."

"Both of which would be handled when we found a safe way to do so," Minato grit out, eyes surveying their group again, lingering on Rin.

"We thought we had a safe way," Jiraiya spoke up, struggling to turn his chair around to face Minato. Tsunade reached out and pulled his chair around. "Minato, you must understand, stranding that other Konoha in their weakened state without the Kyūbi to at least pretend they could defend themselves would open the door for other invasions. We were attempting to seal the Kyūbi's chakra in a series of crystals."

"But that did not work," Minato finished for him eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What did you use instead?"

"Rin volunteered," Tsunade said straightening and lifting her chin arms crossed over her chest.

Minato closed his eyes, face scrunching in a moment of pain and fists clenching before hardening again as he looked up at her. "This was reckless, even for the two of you," he ground out through clenched teeth.

"Sensei, please," Rin said from her chair, rousing from her semi-conscious state. She clenched her jaw and pushed herself to a more upright position as Kakashi rushed to support her. "It was my choice."

"One you should not have been forced to make," Minato snapped, voice rising in the night. He stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"It's already done," Tsunade said, voice hard and expression blank. Tsunade had always been willing to make the hard decisions, Kakashi knew, but if this Tsunade was anything like the Tsunade from Kakashi's world the decision to make Rin into a Jinchuriki must be tearing her up inside. "There's no going back now. You can decide our punishment after everything else is taken care of since I assume you've returned from the other Konoha for some reason."

Minato drew himself up, every inch a furious Hokage, but a Hokage nonetheless. He visibly set aside his emotions in favor of completing his duty. The anger never completely left his face, but Kakashi could tell the precise moment Minato reasserted control over it.

"We've gained control of both sides of the Mirror and ensured that Pain will not pose a threat at any point in the near future. All that's left is to return Kakashi to his home world and remove the seal and genjutsu the Sandaime placed on Naruto."

"Kakashi is in no shape to travel by your Hirashin," Tsunade said, cool and professional. Kakashi had to admire her nerve. He doubted whether he'd have the guts to contradict or deny Minato anything considering what they had done and the fury still burning deep in Minato's gaze.

Minato nodded, a short, sharp gesture. "Several ANBU will ensure both he and Naruto get there quickly and without additional harm. Others will take Jiraiya, Rin, and Tsunade to the hospital. Did you manage to seal any of the Kyūbi's chakra into the crystals?"

Tusnade lifted a bag with the few remaining crystals. "Most of them shattered under the strain."

Minato took the bag looking inside at the small number still intact, less than a dozen, glowing inside the mesh bag like dull, red coals.

"It's not going to be enough," Rin said, her voice harsh but more alert than she had been moments earlier. "It's not going to satisfy them."

Rin was probably right, Kakashi knew. The Sandaime would not, could not easily part with the Kyūbi when the village was so desperately weak. Sarutobi was a good man and fond of Naruto, always wanting the boy to be happier than Naruto had been, but Sarutobi was also the Hokage, first and foremost. The village had to be his priority. The scowl on Minato's face said he understood the dilemma as well, both Sarutobi's and his own. Sarutobi could not relinquish the Kyūbi, but Minato could hardly be expected to choose between his son and Rin. Not for the first time that night, Kakashi cursed himself for going along with their mad plan.

"We'll deal with that after I've spoken to the Sandaime," Minato said shooting a steely glare at Tsunade and Jiraiya before adjusting his last order. "The ANBU will also bring Rin to the Mirror room. Wait there until given further instructions." Minato turned and in an instant was gone.

* * *

Sarutobi reached the frontlines nearly an hour after ordering the assault on the Ame forces. He trusted Shikaku to complete the attack however, felt obligated to ensure the Mirror was secured if it was still intact. Already, he could tell the front line had advanced considerably from its previous position.

"Hokage-sama," Shikaku nodded as Sarutobi dropped down next to his position. "We've nearly cleared out this area of enemy shinobi and any defensive booby traps set up. Unless there's an unpleasant surprise, we'll be to the Tower soon."

Sarutobi nodded, debating the merit of going to the Tower himself at this point when another report crackled over the radio.

"Come in command!" the voice said. Sarutobi pressed his own earpiece firmly into position to better hear the report. "The Ame forces are in full retreat. They seem to be pulling back past the Tower and moving toward the edge of the village."

Shikaku keyed his throat mic to reply, "Understood, report from all sections, what is the status of the Ame lines?"

Several voices immediately responded to the command. "Enemy forces are retreating here as well."

"They seem to be falling back across all Ame lines, even in areas where we have not engaged them."

"They're moving out of the village."

Sarutobi and Shikaku shared a look, both suspicious of the sudden turn in battle but unwilling to lose the opportunity. Sarutobi keyed his own mic. "All teams, secure territory abandoned by the Ame forces. Check for traps and prevent Iwa forces from moving into the vacant territory. Teams conducting the assault on the Hokage Tower, move into the Tower and secure it at the first possible opening."

A chorus of "Hai Hokage-sama!" returned back to him over the radio, voices more energetic and hearted than Sarutobi had heard in days. This was the end of the invasion. The Iwa forces would never hold the territory they controlled without Ame support. Konoha was not out of the woods by any means, but they would win this battle. Sarutobi allowed a brief moment of relief knowing he would not be the last Hokage.

"Hokage-sama!" a new voice over radio called, drawing Sarutobi's attention. "We have reached the Tower but are being prevented from entering by the forces currently occupying it. They-" The voice over the radio hesitated.

"Well?" Sarutobi asked as he fought his own impatience at the hesitation in the report.

The voice on the radio finished with confusion. "The forces that are stopping us from entering the Tower seem to be Konoha ANBU."

Sarutobi scowled and turned to an equally baffled Shikaku.

"Those are not any of our people," Shikaku muttered, just loud enough for Sarutobi alone to hear. "It would be a reasonable assumption to make that the Mirror has been opened and forces from the other world have entered ours…Or the enemy is attempting to lay a trap."

"It does not answer why they are preventing our forces from entering the Tower. There is also the unanswered question of what happened to Kakashi." Sarutobi glared across the ruble of his village in the direction of the Tower. "I am going to the Tower," he said. "You know what to do with the offensive."

"Hai," Shikaku said as Sarutobi bounded away.

Traveling over the destruction, Sarutobi was thankfully too preoccupied in the current mystery to fully take in the devastation around him. Buildings lay toppled or faceless. Debris and wreckage blocked the streets, some turned into barricades at defensible points. Seeing his beloved Konoha reduced to such a state paled in comparison to the human toll in casualties they had sustained.

They were supposed to be past this, Sarutobi thought with bitter regret. The Shinobi wars were meant to be a thing of the past, at least until his time was over. Men as old as himself should not preside over the funerals of the village's children.

The Tower loomed ahead of Sarutobi, cracked open like an empty shell. He kept his eyes moving, his senses open even though the enemy was supposed to be gone. It was times like these in apparent safety that people became sloppy. Sure enough no one stopped or attacked him as he drew near the Tower. Another Shinobi did draw parallel but it was one of Saurtobi's own scouts that had sent back reports on Ame's retreat.

"Hokage-sama!" the scout gasped, but quickly recovered, "The others are up ahead, but they won't let us enter the Tower."

A Konoha ANBU called them to a halt and challenged them to identify themselves before advancing.

"It is the Sandaime Hokage," Sarutobi called, certain he recognized the voice as one of the Aburame-clan, but equally certain the Aburame were fighting in another section of the city. It only confirmed his theory that while these were Konoha shinobi, they were not his Konoha's shiboi.

"You and you alone may continue," the ANBU called back.

Sarutobi stepped forward but the scout moved to stop him. "Hokage-sama, how do we know this isn’t a trap? There's no reason our own people would keep us out of the Hokage Tower."

"It's not a trap," Sarutobi assured the younger shinobi, "but if anything goes wrong, you'll follow Shikaku's instructions until I return."

"Understood." The scout bowed.

Sarutobi nodded before moving forward to meet his successor in what he was sure would be a difficult encounter.

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endings are hard, and writing genius characters is also hard because I am not a genius. So this chapter was doubly difficult. Hope you all enjoyed it.  
> Thanks for reading!


	25. Confrontation: Part 2

  **Chapter 25: Confrontation Part 2**

Naruto being accustomed to trouble, causing it and getting blamed for it, knew the difference between normal trouble and bad trouble. Most of the time in the old Konoha, he reveled in the attention resulting from normal trouble as the only way to be noticed and acknowledge. Here, where Minato, Kakashi, Rin, Jiraiya, and all the others he’d met treated him not just like an actual person but as a part of the family, Naruto found little need to cause the amount of trouble he had in his old Konoha. Still, in both worlds he knew to avoid bad trouble at all costs, and the look on his Dad’s face just now meant bad trouble.

The group was silent after Minato flashed away. A few ANBU dropped down ready to provide escort to the Hokage Tower and hospital. Kakashi’s, slow shambling pace prompted some discussion between Kakashi, Jiraiya, and one of the ANBU about fetching another wheelchair, or simply carrying Kakashi the rest of the way. After an initial moment of argument, Kakashi’s shoulders drooped farther and he accepted the offer to bring him a wheelchair.

Naruto tuned out much of the exchange. As far as he was concerned the longer it took to get back to the Tower the better. With bad trouble came equally bad consequences, in this case the possibility of being sent home. They were going back to the Tower specifically to send Kakashi-jiji back, who was to say Minato and the others hadn’t changed their minds about sending Naruto back as well? After all, Naruto was well aware how much of a burden he could be in the other Konoha.

The only reason they were out here in the first place was because of Naruto and the Kyūbi. If Naruto hadn’t had the Kyūbi inside him there would have been no problem. If he had been able to control it, be stronger than the Kyūbi like his dad thought he could be there still wouldn’t be a problem. If Naruto hadn’t even come to this world there still wouldn’t be a problem.

Granted, Naruto wasn’t entirely sure how he could have prevented any of those things from happening. It still didn’t change the damning fact that they were out in that field because the fox’s chakra was attracted to Naruto. They were trying to help Naruto so he could go outside without worrying about hurting anyone and people still got hurt…because of him.

 Jiraiya looked worse than he did before, Kakashi too, and Rin…Naruto stole a glance at the medic as another ANBU pushed her chair. Rin was like him now.

Naruto didn’t want to think if Rin hated him or not. He supposed if she did it didn’t matter because he would probably be sent back to his own world and she would never have to see him again. Minato definitely would choose the old student he’d known for years over Naruto who had only been around for a few weeks. It still hurt to think that Rin, everyone really, would remember him as the reason she became a vessel for a demon.

At least, this time Kakashi-jiji would talk to him, be his friend. So Naruto wouldn’t be completely alone again. Still, one friend in an entire village that hated him when here Naruto had at least four and a dad and the villagers didn’t hate him on sight…it didn’t seem like a fair exchange. Not that Naruto didn’t want to be Kakashi-jiji’s friend, too.

Naruto looked up at Kakashi-jiji, now ensconced in his own wheelchair pushed by another ANBU. The white haired man looked even older than before, eye clenched shut and brow furrowed.

Then again, maybe Kakashi-jiji needed him more than the others.

Naruto still didn’t want to leave, but he steeled himself for the bad news. Bad news was easier to take if you expected it and right now if he hoped for the chance to stay only to be told he had to go, Naruto was sure he wouldn’t survive the disappointment.

* * *

Minato arrived in his office in the Hokage Tower. The room was dark and empty with only the light from the new morning to cast long shadows over the floor, walls, and furniture. He could have arrived directly in the Mirror room, but Minato needed a moment to collect himself.

Glancing down at the bag of chakra crystals, Minato scowled. The notion that Jiraiya and Tsunade had gone behind his back, created yet another Jinchuriki, evoked not just anger at being circumvented in such an important decision but pain at the memories it dredged up. They knew Minato disapproved of the practice, whatever his counterpart may have done to Naruto. Minato had enough memories of how Kushina had suffered, then added to that the evidence that Naruto had undergone similar treatment, perhaps worse.

Minato dropped the bag on the desk and clenched his fists, grinding his teeth as he paced across the room. Thinking of that was not helping him calm, more the opposite. He could address that topic in a few moments when he spoke to Sarutobi personally.

There was still the matter of punishments for those involved, at least three of them. Kakashi, after all, wasn’t from Minato’s world and would be returning home shortly, perhaps a punishment in and of itself. Naruto, being a child could hardly be held accountable for the actions of the adults around him. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Rin, however, were immensely responsible for what happened. The problem was finding a punishment severe and appropriate enough that Minato could get past the council and also enforce. Banishment was a possibility, or restriction to the village. It didn’t quite seem enough, though.

Dropping into a chair pushed against the wall, Minato glared at his desk. Kage were always referred to as the strongest in the village. Young shinobi looked up to their kage as invincible, limitless in power and influence. If those junior ranks only knew the administrative and practical limits Minato actually had to deal with, their high opinion of their leader would never be the same.

A huff of frustration escaped Minato, but oddly enough focusing on the administration problem for a moment brought his temper back below boiling point. It still simmered under the surface, but he felt he could confront Sarutobi without the danger of doing something untoward. Scooping up the bag of crystals and with one final bracing huff, Minato flashed to the Mirror room.

The room held the type of devastated quiet that only came with the after effects of battle. Two ANBU crouched in front of the Mirror, molding and channeling chakra through the cracked and damaged device. Through the facets and shatter lines, Minato could make out Kakashi on the other side, leaned against a boulder and reading one of Jiraiya’s books. Outside, another two ANBU stood guard, but all others were off attending to wounded and cleaning up the mess. Just faintly, an explosion sounded, but it was disjointed, filtered through the damaged connection from the other Konoha.

At some unknown signal, Kakashi straightened up and put his book away. “Hokage-sama,” he said in a loud voice, gaze turned away toward the door in the other world, “The Sandaime is here.”

Minato nodded and stepped through the Mirror. The passage from one world to the next was more difficult, the barrier harder to push past, not surprising considering the condition of the Mirror. He was certain the device would collapse if not for the constant flow of chakra from the ANBU kneeling nearby. Minato dismissed the damage from his mind. They only needed the Mirror for a little longer, then he had every intention of destroying it anyway.

“He’s out in the hall with Itachi-san,” Kakashi said, turning to face Minato.

Minato nodded. “Your counterpart and Naruto will be arriving soon. Have them wait in the hall.” Minato glanced at Kakashi, tilting his head back toward the Mirror. Kakashi turned away and pushed through the Mirror, leaving the room empty for Minato and the Sandaime to talk.

“Sandiame-san,” Minato greeted with flat tone and a curt nod as the old Hokage appeared not a moment later. The bag of chakra crystals hung at Minato’s side, hopefully enough for the other Hokage in exchange for Naruto.

“Yondaime-san,” Sarutobi replied with a nod, professional though warmer than Minato’s cool attitude.

The man looked older than Minato had ever seen him. The lines on Sarutobi’s face seemed to have doubled and his shoulders were stooped from fatigue and stress. The man’s black battle uniform was in little better shape, dirty with blood and dust, torn and wrinkled from days of wear and regular battle. It was a testament with the ruined Hokage Tower of the dire situation this world’s Konoha and her Hokage had faced. The sight made some of Sarutobi’s decisions more understandable but only those after the invasion started.

A long moment of silence passed, each gaze taking in the other. “I take it I have you to thank for Ame’s withdraw from the village,” Sarutobi said, words loud in the quiet room.

Minato nodded, face set in stone, forcing himself to leave the father behind for a moment and be just one Hokage conferring with another. “They’ll probably refrain from attacking again unless you give them a reason, at least in the short term.”

Sarutobi’s eyes narrowed as he took that in, “They’ve lost strength, so have the Iwa forces. We’ll be able to push out the remaining enemy now that their allies have fled. They cannot hold their lines with their flank so exposed.”

“What have your casualties been?” Minato asked, thinking ahead to possible struggles against other villages, Suna especially, now that Konoha had been weakened.

“Significant.” Sarutobi breathed a faint sigh and pain flashed across his old eyes. “We still have many of our high level shinobi, a good portion of the older chūnin and most of the jounin. Nearly all the veterans of the Shinobi Wars survived, but our genin and younger chūnin ranks have been gutted and most of our shinobi suffer some form of injury.” A shadow passed over the Sandaime’s expression and for a brief instant he looked less like the leader of a military village and more like a grandfather who’d seen deep tragedy come to his family. A moment later he stood straighter, face setting impassive again and the impression was gone. “We have enough to weather a small probing attack from any other villages, a larger scale attack is less certain and certainly we couldn’t survive another major offensive.”

Minato nodded weighing the likelihood that another village would risk a significant attack. Despite everything that had happened, he still didn’t wish further destruction on this other Konoha. Konoha, if this version was similar to Minato’s, was considered one of the stronger shinobi villages. If anyone besides perhaps Suna intended to take advantage of the situation they would likely want to confirm Konoha had lost enough strength. That would require intel which would take time, and time would only help the Sandaime rebuild his forces to meet additional aggression.

The Sandaime’s gaze shifted to just over Minato’s shoulder, hope flaring at what he saw. Minato turned his head and saw the disjointed image of Minato’s Kakashi, still wearing an ANBU mask, but nevertheless recognizable with his unruly white hair. Looking back to the Sandaime, the hope in the older man’s expression had gone as he undoubtedly realized that the Kakashi he saw was not _his_ Kakashi.

“Your Kakashi is alive, if severely injured,” Minato said, restoring a portion of the same hope. “He’ll be returning to you shortly.”

“Thank you,” Sarutobi said. He opened his mouth a moment before closing it, then pressing it into a grimacing line. Strained silence filled the space between them as the Sandaime struggle to find precisely what he wanted to say.

Minato’s hardening expression probably contributed to the man’s hesitance. “Naruto,” Minato finally said, breaking the silence and coming to the one topic each truly wanted to discuss.

Sarutobi’s eyes, pressed closed a moment but, when they opened there was no hesitance in the firm gaze boring into Minato’s own. “Yes,” Sarutobi said, not a question, more an offer to continue.

“Why did you hide his existence from me?” Minato demanded. The careful calm he’d attained focusing on the needs of the village as a Hokage was quickly evaporating in favor of the hot anger he’d felt earlier.

Sarutobi straightened a fraction more, almost a man on trial. “I refrained from informing you about him because I saw no need to at the time and doing so would have only caused you pain, something I would never desire.”

“But you endured the pain Naruto experienced in his life,” Minato bit back, Sarutobi’s calm only stoking the anger. “I know what abuse looks like, I know what type a life jinchuriki lives, especially those without a family.”

Another flash of sorrow and regret passed though the Saindaime, but accepting calm replaced it again a moment later. “Naruto has not had an easy life. Certainly the village did not…react to him the way I had hoped they would. But he has been relatively safe in the village, if not accepted.”

“Safe,” Minato scoffed, blue eyes sharp, “You use the term loosely. Beside, physical safety is not the only concern when raising a child. How long has Naruto been alone? When was the last time, before he came to us that someone told him he was loved, wanted, or even just tolerated? When was the last time anyone even tried showing him those things? He’s constantly afraid we’ll leave him. He doesn’t know how to draw attention without thinking he needs to cause trouble to do it. He’s frightened of crowds and looks to strangers as if they’re going to berate him first or ignore him second.” His voice grew steadily louder, distantly reminding Minato of Kushina when she became righteously enraged. Maybe it was a small part of her, living on through Minato responding to the mistreatment of her son, too.

The Sandaime stood mute and grave, not denying anything, not defending anything.

“He’s my son, Sarutobi, you should have taken better care of him,” Minato finally said, disappointment welling up like a wound.

“I know,” Sarutobi admitted, “If I could change the past...” His frown deepened a moment, his eyes flicked to the destroyed room around him and he shook his head. “There are several things I would change, but that is the past and it is untouchable.”

Minato paused, giving his old friend and predecessor a chance to say anything else in his defense. When nothing more came, Minato set his shoulders, ready for a fight if necessary. “Naruto is staying with me.”

The Sandaime sighed, a heavy sound with the weight of years behind it. “I did not intent for you to keep the boy,” he said, though his tone spoke more of resignation than surprise.

“Sometimes things happen that you don’t intend,” Minato said, a harder edge to his voice than he meant to give. Recognizing it, he grimaced reminding himself of the difficult decisions being Hokage could bring. Without knowing exactly how things played out in this world, could Minato fully condemn the man before him? Keeping this in mind Minato attempted to soften his tone, though with little success, “What sort of life would he have if he went back? The same as he’s had till now, loneliness and resentment? Naruto living like that for too long will back fire on the same village you’re trying to protect. He’ll grow up only knowing hate and he’ll certainly have no loyalty to the village or any of his comrades, people who should be his family.”

“Naruto does deserve better than this village has given him,” Sarutobi conceded with a nod, “But the council will not accept losing the Kyūbi so easily, not in our weakened state.” The old man’s gaze was turned inward, considering his options, rather than outright challenging Minato’s intentions.

“You have no say in the matter and no way to stop it,” Minato said, voice hard. “Tell them Naruto was killed in the battle, it will at least buy you time until they find out otherwise and perhaps they’ll never discover the truth.” He glanced down at the sack in his hand, nearly forgotten in the conversation so far. “Here,” Minato said, holding out the peace offering. “Chakra crystals filled with some of the Kyūbi’s chakra.”

Sarutobi took the bag with a nod. “Thank you. They may help soothe some of the hardliners wishing to take action,” he said, then drew in a breath and visibly considered his next words. “It’s true, I have no recourse concerning Naruto. We don’t have the strength right now to stop you and fight Iwa at the same time. Nor do I desire to do so. I can understand your anger at his treatment, but I cannot change human nature and can only state that I believe I made the best possible decision at the time amidst poor circumstances.”

The old Hokage paused, fixed the bag of crystals to his weapons pouch and drew himself up straight. “There are elements in Konoha that I do not have complete control over, hardliners that may try to recover the Kyūbi even with these crystals to make up for the loss.”

Minato nodded, he was familiar with similar organizations in his own Konoha, shadowy groups that had their own agendas. There was only so much a Hokage could do with them if they did not openly threaten the village.

The Sandaime continued, “However, we will have other matters distracting us from Naruto’s disappearance for a short time and I believe I can handle anyone who tries to make it an issue. If nothing else, the connection between our worlds will be long gone by the time serious objections are raised. I doubt any attempts to rebuild it would take time if it were even possible.”

Minato nodded, looking forward to shattering the Mirror once and for all. “One Last thing,” Minato said, expression a touch softer now he knew his predecessor would not stop him, but voice still firm, “You placed a genjutsu on Naruto, hid a seal in his memory. I want both removed.”

The Sandaime bowed his head recognizing the hard tone. This was non-negotiable for Minato, anything concerning his son would be at the moment. “Bring him through, I’ll remove it.”

Minato shook his head. “No, he’ll stay where he is. Tell Itachi what technique you used and provide us with a copy of the seal and we will remove it ourselves.”

Sarutobi acquiesced with a sigh, “Very well.”

Minato called for Itachi to enter the room. The he stepped away to contact the rest of his team over their ear pieces. “I’m going back to bring this world’s Kakashi through. Everyone, wait five minutes then return to the Mirror room for extraction.” A chorus of acknowledgement met him over the radio and he turned back to the Mirror, hopefully to leave this world for the last time.

* * *

The trip back took much less time with the help of the uninjured ANBU and a third wheelchair, Rin noted, feeling increasingly aware of her surroundings. Now, their sorry group stood in the corridor outside the Mirror room. Tsunade and Jiraiya were meant to go to the hospital, but had over ridden the directions of the ANBU escorting them. Technically, neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya had the authority to do so, but their escorts were some of the younger ANBU, the more experienced ones helping closer to the Mirror, and it was difficult to say no to one Sannin much less two once they made up their mind.

“You should have gone to the hospital,” Rin said to a drooping Jiraiya. Her eyes flicked to Tsunade standing next to Jiraiya’s wheelchair, still a little surprised the senior medic had agreed to coming to the Tower first.

Jiraiya waved a flopping hand. “Eh, I’ll survive. I have you and Tsunade to keep me going.”

“He’s going straight to the hospital after this.” Tsunade said leaning against a wall, “We started this, so we need to see this through first.”

“Minato-sensei’s not going to be happy,” Rin muttered, more to herself. Still hesitant as a genin about disappointing her first mentor.

“We’re in trouble already, why not make the most of it,” Tsunade dismissed, but the tense set of her shoulders belied her flippancy. 

Naruto flinched at the mention of trouble, just a small jerk of his shoulders drawing Rin’s gaze. The boy looked nearly as miserable as the other Kakashi, shoulders hunched, gaze glued to the floor. Thankfully, Naruto hadn’t been physically injured, but he was clearly distraught and far too comfortable with letting his distress go unnoticed.

Rin pushed herself out of her wheelchair with only a little difficulty. Her strength, initially sapped from having the Kyūbi sealed inside her was slowly returning. The action drew Tsunade’s critical eye but the medic did nothing to stop her. Rin crouched down next to Naruto and spoke in a soft voice, drawing his attention. “Alright, Naruto-kun?”

Naruto’s eyes came up, peering through his lashes nearly close to tears. “I’m sorry,” Naruto whispered, “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt, or Kakashi.”

“None of this is your fault,” Rin said, resting her hands on either of his shoulders. “You were very brave out there, exactly the way a shinobi should be.”

Naruto shook his head, eyes clenched closed. “All I did was stand there while Kakashi fought and you…” he trailed off, breath coming in deep, harsh inhalations.

“Shh,” Rin said, pulling him close into a hug. “You carried out your part of the plan and sometimes that’s all we can do, even if the rest doesn’t work out like we hoped.”

“Am I going to be sent back?” Naruto asked his voice barely audible.

“No,” this time it was Kakashi who had spoken, looking down from his seat next to Naruto. “You’re staying here with your family, Naruto-kun. The only one going back to that world is me.”

Rin’s eyes shifted to Kakashi, the Other Kakashi from the Other world. He looked shattered, body broken, face white, and visible eye haunted. The only time she’d seen Kakashi brought so low was when they had lost Obito in the cave and at least then they’d had the immediate problem of finishing the mission to take their mind off of it. Now they had nothing to do but wait for Minato to send further instructions. Then he would return to his own world, apparently as shattered as he was, to try and rebuilt something from the pieces.

Rin didn’t know this man as well as the Kakashi she’d grown up with, didn’t know what his life had been like, but she did know her Kakashi and the two men shared some similarities. Several times now she’d caught guilty or sorrowful glances from the Other Kakashi, enough to tell her something had happened to her counterpart in the Other world and that Kakashi blamed himself for it. It broke her heart, remembering all too well her own Kakashi when she’d first joined Team Minato. He’d been cold and aloof, determined not to make friends. This version of Kakashi was almost worse, outwardly outgoing, easy tempered, friendly, but desperately lonely despite all that.

In that moment, Rin had the horrible feeling she was looking at a reflection of what Whitefang, Kakashi’s father, must have looked like in the days before he took his own life, when the guilt and weight of failed duty and honor had crushed any desire to continue out of him. The Other Kakashi from that Other world had that look in his eye, one similar to those she’d seen before they committed or attempted a permanent end to their suffering. Her own Kakashi would never consider it, but this man…Rin couldn’t be so sure. The thought of Kakashi ending his own life, alone in a ruined Konoha already grieving from too many dead moved something in her core, hardened a will similar to that which gave her the strength to volunteer as a Jinchuriki.

Kakashi, Rin’s Kakashi, stepped out of the Mirror room at that moment generic ANBU mask instead of his usual Dog alias covering his face but recognizable to someone who knew him. He’d been involved in a serious and difficult fight, Rin could tell purely based on how well she knew her old teammate despite his relaxed posture. He glanced over their group, pausing at the serious atmosphere filling the hall like a physical force.

Seeing the two Kakashis together, even with one wearing a mask, only brought the difference between them into sharper focus. Up until then, both men had been avoiding one another, probably not liking the possible turn their lives could have taken, one envious of what he had missed, the other dreading what might have been. Even now, Rin’s Kakashi seemed to carefully avoid examining his counterpart too closely while the Other Kakashi could only look at his counterpart’s feet.

“You’re here, good,” Rin’s Kakashi said, neatly glossing over the fact that all members of their group looked wrung-out from a recent battle. “The Hokages are talking. We’ll probably get this thing straightened out in a few moments. You’ll be going back,” he said to injured counterpart.

Other Kakashi remained silent, only nodding in response, face devoid of emotion in a way reminiscent of the younger Kakashi before he’d learned from Obito. The entire thing seemed too much like a prisoner exchange or punish by banishment for Rin’s liking and the idea that had been forming in the back of her mind finally took shape.

Rin’s Kakashi turned back into the Mirror room when no one spoke after his announcement. Rin braced her hands against her knees and pushed herself to her feet. The action was more difficult than she anticipated, reminding her that she still needed time to recover. She followed her Kakashi back into the Mirror room. First and foremost thinking that he didn’t know what had happened and if anyone was going to tell him it would be her.

The room was strewn with debris and evidence of another battle since the initial invasion including one of Pain’s bodies lying on the ground nearby. Two ANBU guards crouched before the fractured Mirror channeling chakra into it. From the other side, Rin could make out Minato’s signature white coat and the Sandaime’s black battle dress, but the image was distorted from the heavy number of cracks running though the pane. Other ANBU guards stood around the room, ready to step forward and intercept any additional threat aimed to and from the Mirror.

“Kakashi-san,” Rin murmured almost too low to hear, catching hold of Kakashi’s arm.

Kakashi turned to face her, then nodded toward a far corner of the room where they would at least have the illusion of privacy. When she had his undivided attention, Rin floundered, unsure of how to begin. First, she needed to explain what had happened then approach what would happen. Really she needed to talk to Minato and Tsunade about what would happen, but Kakashi was her oldest friend, more family than friend. They’d been through the worst together and if there was a possibility Minato accepted her idea she needed a chance to talk to her dear friend, try and explain.

“Yes?” Kakashi prompted, glancing back to the Mirror for a moment and checking on the progress of the Hokages’ discussion.

They wouldn’t have much time, Rin needed to be direct. “There’s something I need to tell you, while you were gone tonight, Jiraiya, Tsunade, your counterpart, and myself attempt to capture the latent Kyūbi chakra.”

“What?” Kakashi said, frown audible under his mask. “How did you plan to do that? Especially without Minato-sensei there or Itachi to suppress the Kyūbi’s chakra if something went wrong?”

Treat it like reporting a mission, Rin told herself. Just give the facts as they happened. She could deal with her own shock at the events later. “We used Naruto as bait then trapped the chakra into modified chakra crystals. We planned on using them as collateral for the other Konoha since they wouldn’t be getting the Kyūbi back.”

With each word, Kakashi stiffened then finally shook his head. “That was foolish to attempt. The Kyūbi’s chakra is too unstable, too powerful for chakra crystals.”

Rin nodded, tilting her head to the side in reluctant agreement. “Nevertheless, it was the best we could come up with in the short time we had. And some of the crystals did survive.”

“Some?” Kakashi’s tone had grown wary and he grabbed Rin’s arm in concern.

Rin grimaced forcing the crux of the matter out before she faltered. “We were interrupted, the balanced fell apart. We had to improvise and find another vessel.”

“Rin don’t tell me,” Kakashi murmured, the wariness was full blown dread and the grip on her arm tightened in alarm. “You?”

Rin nodded. “There wasn’t any other option and we had already committed to the plan so we couldn’t turn back.”

Kakashi stared at her in shocked silence. Rin wished she could see his face, gage what he was feeling so she could know how to respond. The mask was more for his anonymity in the Other world rather than protecting his identity here, but protocol demanded the mask remain until the mission was complete. Kakashi’s head jerked toward the rest of the group waiting in the hall and spat out a vicious curse.

“Don’t blame them,” Rin hurried to get out. Kakashi had always been sensitive about protecting her, a remnant of losing Obito. It had gotten better over time but never left, not completely. “I volunteered. It was as much my idea as anyone’s.”

Kakashi’s head twitched to one side, almost to look back out in the hall again, but he didn’t take his gaze away from Rin. His shoulders tensed even more as if in preparation to speak, but at that moment Minato cleared his throat from near the Mirror, having just arrived from his confrontation with the Sandaime. Rin and Kakashi both jerked around facing their sensei and Minato hitched his head toward the door.

  Not looking back to Kakashi, Rin stepped after Minato, steeling herself for the next few minutes. She’d run out of time.

* * *

Minato pushed through the Mirror and stepped immediately for the door leading to the hall. Behind him Minato could hear the Sandaime speaking in low tones with Itachi, hopefully giving the Uchiha all the information needed to safely remove any remnant of the Genjutsu or seal from Naruto. The genjutsu masters in the village could probably work it out if necessary but it would be much easier and less harmful to Naruto to simply have the specifics handed over to them.

Glancing to the side, Minato noticed Rin and his Kakashi in the far corner, engrossed in conversation. Kakashi’s back was rigid, shoulders tight, and the expression on Rin’s face meant she was probably telling him what happened. They needed more time to come to terms with Rin’s new situation than they really had at the moment. They would have a long talk concerning the events of the night after the final exchange with Sarutobi.

Minato cleared his throat, pulling their startled attention to him, and indicated the hall with a jerk of his head. Rin and Kakashi both followed him out to where the entire group from the covert mission to trap the Kyūbi waited. Minato sent a disapproving glare to Tsunade and Jiraiya but delayed on commenting about their ignoring his orders.

“The Sandaime has agreed to allow Naruto to stay here,” Minato said, proud of how neutral he managed to keep his tone.

Jiraiya snorted, ruining the effect, and muttered, “As if he had a choice.”

Another withering glare silenced the older man. Minato silently wished Jiraiya would simply pass out from blood loss. It would make next few minutes infinitely easier. “The Sandaime is giving Itachi instructions on how to remove his genjutsu safely. Once that’s finished, you,” he point to the other world’s Kakashi, “will be returning home. Naruto will remain in the hall during the exchange with Jiraiya and Tsunade.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” the other Kakashi said, voice barely audible.

“Sensei?” Rin said, voice half a pitch higher than normal, like a genin about to ask something they knew they shouldn’t.

Minato looked at her, barest nod encouraging her to continue.

Rin took a deep breath, face pale, and fixed her gaze on Minato. “I think we should consider the possibility of my going to the other Konoha.”

Silence met the statement, a deep frown settling over Minato’s face. From the corner of his vision he could see the other Kakashi, eyes wide in shock, mouth hanging open, almost as pale as his hair.

Next to Rin, Minato’s Kakashi went rigid jerking around to face his longtime friend. The mask still hid his expression, but it probably reflect his counterpart’s. “No!” he breathed, quiet in deference to the fact the question was directed to the Hokage, but still audible.

Minato could understand the knee-jerk reaction. Rin was as dear to him as anyone in the village, but he forced down his initial emotional denial. This was a matter to deal with as a Hokage first. “Why would I give up one of my own highly trained shinobi to that other world when they’ve already agreed to my conditions?”

Eyes still fixed on Minato, Rin continued in a stronger voice with a determined jut of her chin. “Because they don’t stand a chance right now. Even pushing the invaders out, there’s nothing to stop another village, Suna or Kumo, from taking advantage of Konoha’s weakness. Having a Jin-” Rin stumbled over the word, eyes squeezing close briefly before continuing. “Having a Jinchuriki there will at least give the illusion of more strength than they perhaps possess.”

Minato held her gaze, surprised she had suggested leaving and wondering if she would falter. “They have the chakra crystals you were able to create.”

“That won’t be enough. It’s not the same as the real thing,” Rin denied before continuing on another track. “They’ll need medics, too, and skilled shinobi more than we currently need them considering their losses. It’s still Konoha and none of us want to see any version of our home completely destroyed.”

Rin paused and drew another breath, her eyes flickering to the other Kakashi, injured in his wheelchair. She shook her head and her gaze drifted to the floor. “They need help and we need to consider giving it even after everything that’s happened. It could mean the difference between survival and complete destruction.”

Minato followed her glance to the other Kakashi, sitting dejected and injured, looking much the same when he first arrived through the Mirror. Minato could understand if the sight of that alternate Kakashi was spurring Rin to make her offer. Rin had always been willing to give her life for the village and her friends, Obito’s example had cemented that loyalty and determination in both of his teammates and this wouldn’t be that different. It would be giving up her life here with the people she knew and loved to save another Konoha and her friend there so desperately in need.

The silence must have stretched too long for her old teammate. Their Kakashi, sucked in a breath through his mask. “Sensei, you can’t be considering it,” there was a touch of desperation in Kakashi’s voice, quiet though it was.

Minato held up a hand, stopping any further comment. “Rin,” Minato said, waiting for her focus to come up off the floor, expression made of steel and eyes fixed on hers. “If you go over to that world, there will be no way back. I’m not going to allow the portal to remain open after this. Understand, you will be trapped there for the rest of your life.”

“I understand,” Rin said. She was pale and her eyes wide, but her hands were steady. “I’m willing to go if it gives them a chance.”

“You don’t have to do this.” The other Kakashi spoke for the first time, visible eye shadowed and turned down. “We’ll find a way to survive.”

“He’s right, you don’t have to do this,” Minato’s Kakashi echo, hands twitching, to take off his mask or grab his old friend, Minato couldn’t tell.

“I know,” Rin said then looked to Tsunade, watching the discussion unfold with a clinical eyes. “Tsuande-sensei, do you have an opinion?” The heavy calm in her voice now that she had made her case was almost comical, but Rin was a medical-nin trained to remain calm in the worst of scenarios.

Tsunade took a moment before answering, face stern and serious. “No doubt, your presence would help that other world greatly, but it is your choice. No one can order you to do this.” Her fierce gaze flashed to Minato, daring him to contradict her.

Minato only shook his head, the dropping sensation in his gut telling him how this was going to end. He had no desire to lose one of his longest friends and dearest students, but knew it was not wise to forbid her from going if her mind had been made up. “I will not order you one way or another. This is a matter for your own conscience to decide. I can only impress on you the permanence of your decision. There will be no coming back.”

Rin nodded her understanding. A long silence descended as their masked Kakashi clenched and unclenched his fists next to her, a true sign of his deep agitation.

Naruto, hesitant, broke the silence with a voice almost as small as he was. “Rin-oneechan, what are you saying?” 

Rin looked down to Naruto and knelt before him, placing her hands on his arms. “What I’m saying is I think I need to go with Kakashi-jiji to your old Konoha.”

Naruto stole a wide-eyed look of near fear to Minato and Minato had to hold himself back from interfering. “But you’re not being punished, are you?” the question was even softer than the last. Minato had missed something while he was gone, something that had passed between Rin and Naruto.

Rin shook her head. “It’s not a matter of being in trouble. It’s a matter of doing the right thing and looking after the ones we care about.”

The confusion and dread in Naruto’s expression cleared a little. Trust the youngest in their group to understand what Rin was trying to do the most.

“Hokage-sama,” one of the ANBU guards from inside the room stuck his head out into the hall, hesitant at interrupting, but enough time had passed to warrant it. “They’re ready for the exchange.”

Minato nodded as Rin pulled Naruto into a tight hug.

“Give them all sorts of trouble, but don’t forget to be kind to others as well,” Rin said then released him. She pushed herself to her feet, wobbling with the effort. She stepped over to Tsunade and Jiraiya and bowed, receiving an approving nod from Tsunade in return. Without another word, Rin took the other Kakashi’s wheelchair in hand and pushed it toward the door into the Mirror room pausing only when Naruto shot forward and grabbed the arm rest.

“You’re leaving now, right?” Naruto said to his own Kakashi, who nodded. “Thank you, for looking after me in the other world. I wish…”

 “Me, too, Naruto-kun,” the other Kakashi said. “But you’re going to be fine here, better than fine.”

Naruto glanced around to the people surrounding them and gave a hesitant smile, only a quarter of his normal wattage, but earnest and hopeful.

“Goodbye, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said and Rin pushed him through the door.

Minato trailed behind them with their own masked Kakashi, following with tense, agitated steps. The Sandaime, Itachi, and other members of the invading force were barely distinguishable from one another, the view to the other side had degraded so much. The Mirror was failing and time was running out.

At the sight of the Mirror, Rin stopped and took a deep breath. She turned to Minato, standing closest behind her. She bowed deeply, “Thank you, Minato-sensei, for everything.”

Minato put his hand on her head when she straightened and looked up at him, something he used to do to his students when they were younger. Both Rin and Kakashi had long outgrown the gesture, but it didn’t matter in that moment. “Thank you, I know you’ll do well,” Minato said, sounding like a father even to his own ears. “Be careful over there, look after yourself,” the ‘ _and_ _him’_ was unspoken but Minato could see she had heard it all the same.

Rin smiled, the gesture only tinged with sorrow. Then she turned to her own Kakashi, battling to keep himself in check. She didn’t say anything, simply stepped up to him and threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. Their masked Kakashi responded in kind, each trying to convey everything they had meant to the other over the years.

When they parted, Rin managed one final watery smile and a croaked. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will,” Kakashi said, voice just over a whisper.

Rin turned and shoved the wheelchair into motion. She had to lean into the push to make it through the Mirror. The others waiting on the reverse side pulled the chair through to help. She had to swivel it one way then another to move around the fallen debris, but eventually turned to face both herself and the seated Kakashi toward the gateway.

There was a moment where Minato could see and partially hear her explaining to the other members of his invasion team inciting a brief discussion between the Sandaime and Minato’s team. The faint words came through the Mirror choppy and broken. Aburame finally stepped forward, handing his mask over to Rin. She bowed to him and the others and one by one, Minato’s team returned to their own world. Itachi was the last through, giving a formal nod to indicate the all clear.

The ANBU channeling chakra into the Mirror broke off and stepped back away from the devise. Surprisingly, the Mirror still held together, the image only flickering with the interruption of chakra flow.

“Look after her!” Minato’s Kakashi called to his counterpart, his voice loud and earnest.

The response was a faint but distinguishable, “I will!” as all three of the blurry figures on the other side raised their hands in farewell.

Minato stepped up and call forward a Rasengan. Careful not to touch the surface himself, he rammed the jutsu into the very center of the Mirror, right at the point where several of the largest cracks met. The image on the other side flickered and vanished a fraction of a second before the entire Mirror shattered and fell to the floor.

The crash of broken crystal only amplified the silence that followed as Minato and those around stared down at the glittering shards. So much trouble had come from the damn thing. Turning around, though, and seeing Naruto peeking around the corner now unaffected by the sight of the broken Mirror as Tsunade’s hand reached into view and pulled him away, Minato could not make himself regret it.

“Have this cleaned up, place the remains in S-class artefact storage,” Minato said and swept out of the room, Itachi following behind. Even with Naruto’s being able to look into the Mirror room without apparent difficulty, Minato had every intention for Itachi to remove any lingering influence the Sandaime’s genjutsu could possibly have.

Outside in the hall, Tsunade and Naruto were facing off, a spark of Naruto’s initial exuberance showing through despite the strain and exhaustion evident in his tense posture and tight frown. Jiraiya had finally succumbed to his own exhaustion and wounds, head tilted at an awkward angle in his chair and eyes closed.

“Tsunade-san,” Minato said, pulling the medical-nin from her chastisement of Naruto’s cheek. “I think it’s time you took Jiraiya to the hospital.”

“Hai…Hokage-sama,” Tsunade said adding the title in an apparent bid to make up for ignoring Minato’s earlier instructions.

Minato watched her wheel her old teammate down the hall, then glanced behind him into the Mirror room. Kakashi still stood, looking down at the remnants of the Mirror, the broken connection to his oldest friend. Kakashi had needed to say goodbye to too many of his loved ones in the past. He would survive, Minato knew, but also Minato knew just as well how difficult the next few days and weeks would be for Kakashi. Glancing back to Naruto, Minato’s serious expression cracked with a twitch of a smile. They’d lost one connection, but they now had time to build another one.

“Naruto-kun,” Minato said, pulling Naruto to his side and gesturing to Kakashi’s masked form, “Why don’t you go get that ANBU there, he’s going to be your guard for the next few weeks. We’re heading home.”

The smile on Naruto’s face wasn’t as bright as it could be, but it was getting closer, and the tense stiffness of his body loosened at the mention of Home.

“Yeah!” Naruto cried, shooting forward to grab Kakashi’s hand. “C’mon, ANBU-san!” Naruto said, “We’re going home!”

 

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's that. Thanks to everyone for the kudos and comments. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**Author's Note:**

> I write and post these stories to practice my story craft. Please leave a constructive criticism to help me improve my writing.


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